


The Density of Blood and Water

by mickeydubs



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Minor Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Minor Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Minor Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra), but also social commentary, the power of love and friendship!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:08:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 22,841
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24667384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mickeydubs/pseuds/mickeydubs
Summary: At the beginning of the end of her college career, Adora faces pressure to follow in her mother’s corporate footsteps while the effects of gentrification seep into her beloved community. Through it all, Adora deals with family problems, works to maintain friendships, and falls in love.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 188





	1. Last First Thirsty Thursday

Adora sat low in a chair in her mother’s office, failing, as she always did, to pay attention to whatever it was her mom was lecturing about. 

The office was located on the top floor of a towering office building and warehouse, all of which belonged to Horde, the technology and distribution company her mother had founded. It was a wildly successful conglomerate of production and innovation, including a subscription and delivery service called Horde Prime. Her mother, Sharon Weaver, in the years since starting the company, had become a highly regarded and unnervingly formidable business woman. It was no surprise when employees began to call her “Shadow” Weaver, due to her frightful presence and the fact that her dealings were, more often than not, what the kids call “shady.” It was a colloquialism that caught on to the point that people often knew her as Shadow Weaver before they even learned her real name.

Adora slumped so that her shoulders touched her ears and gazed out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the hustle and bustle of the streets below. Etheria wasn’t a large city by any means, but its community had always been lively and busy. Adora was in the midst of her first week of her final semester at Bright Moon University, and she looked upon the colorful people and local institutions with regret; one of the main reasons she had been okay with attending college in the same town in which her mother worked was that there were so many opportunities for involvement and creativity. And yet, throughout her years of higher education, an unfortunate amount of her free time had been co-opted by her mother’s attempts to groom her to be second in command and eventually take over the company. 

Of course, Adora had no interest in doing so.

Adora was a double major in studio art and business. It should go without saying that one of these concentrations was of her own volition, and the other was forced upon her. It seemed to Adora that most of her life tended to be a battle between what she wanted and what Shadow Weaver wanted  _ for  _ her, between what she loved and what was imposed on her, between free-will and duty. She wanted to spend her life creating; she wanted to draw, to paint, to capture ideas and ideals in striking and meaningful visual forms. 

So, naturally, as Shadow Weaver droned on about “revamping the neighborhood through industry” and other things that passed in and out of Adora’s ears without a trace, Adora’s focus bounced around all of the other things she would rather be doing. Things that were easy. Happy things. The list included, but was not limited to, eating an entire cake, giving herself funny hairdos with extra shampoo in the shower, hanging out with her best friends, Bow and Glimmer, attending a meeting of the Bright Moon University Arts Collective, and playing volleyball with all of the buff girls at the beach.

The problem wasn’t necessarily that Adora was opposed to the idea of working. It wasn’t necessarily even that she didn’t want to work for her mother, whom she did not want to criticize for being a strong, powerful woman - though the concept of being her right hand certainly gave her more than a bit of pause. 

It was the company itself, Horde. “Evil Horde,” as her friends liked to call it. 

The idea of being stuck in a cubicle or desk cluster, making a show of climbing some corporate ladder just to end up in charge of a mob of monotonous automatons… Adora was certain that had to be one of the circles of Hell.

Finally, after what felt to Adora like several hours, her mother dismissed her for the day. She didn’t need to be told twice. She shot up out of her chair with a hasty “goodbye” and practically sprinted out of the building to meet up with her friends. 

When the three of them met in their freshman year, Bow had almost instantaneously dubbed them the Best Friends Squad. They had all bonded immediately when they got to know each other and continued to as the years went on. At first glance, Glimmer had disliked Adora on principle, taking her high, blonde ponytail and athletic sensibility to be indicators of a pompous, holier-than-thou personality. It took the length of a single conversation for her opinion to change. 

As much as Adora and Glimmer hated to admit it, Bow’s name for their little group was more than apt. The three of them were closer to each other than they were to almost anyone else in their lives. They had been there for each other through all of the trials and tribulations of college: all-nighters in the library, hook-ups gone wrong, roommates from hell, and everything in between. Bow was a history and computer sciences double major and the star of Bright Moon U’s archery club. Glimmer had dropped out after their first year, feeling that she wasn’t suited to an academic lifestyle, but she had remained in town, and the three of them continued to spend time together on a daily basis.

Now, they lived together in an off-campus house with a pair of graduate students named Mermista and Seahawk, who studied biology and anthropology respectively. “Seahawk” was a nickname given to the man during his days on the rowing team, but if he had ever told them his given name, Adora couldn’t remember it. Both he and Mermista worked part-time at a nearby coffee shop called First Ones Coffee, named so for the fact that they were the first shop in the city to grow their own coffee beans rather than having them imported. 

The five of them rented their house just outside the campus perimeter in a rather dingy part of town, because it was one of the only affordable housing options near the school. Technically, Adora and Glimmer could live anywhere they wanted. They were both trust fund kids. But Bow, whose dads were not poor by any means, but had shelled out the money to put twelve kids through college before him and were therefore on a tighter budget, had to be more stringent with what he could offer as a monthly payment. Obviously they weren’t going to move in anywhere without Bow, so they took their shabby little house and made it a cozy, eclectic home.

Of course, they all decried the city’s gentrification, even before they began their search for a senior year abode. It was for that reason Adora had not disclosed to them who her mother was. Her friends knew that she was well off, but she was afraid of what their reaction would be if they found out that her wealth came from her mom’s active corporate greed.

Adora hurried to the bar where the Best Friends Squad was meeting for the night. More accurately, she hurried toward  _ Glimmer’s _ bar. 

When Glimmer dropped out of school, she had opted not to tell her parents, so they continued to send her checks for tuition, and eventually, she used those savings to buy herself into part-ownership of a small, chic queer bar that the group had discovered after the Pride festival their sophomore year. Adora hadn’t been back since, but the place held fond memories for all of them, and when Glimmer heard through the grapevine that the owners, a couple named Spinerella and Netossa, were looking for new investors, she couldn’t resist and jumped at the opportunity. She may or may not have been buzzed at that very bar when she made the verbal agreement. 

The bar’s name was Swiftwinds, and Glimmer’s purchase and paperwork had gone through the week before. Naturally, she had insisted that they all go for drinks there as soon as possible. 

_ “It’s the first Thirsty Thursday of our last semester! Well,  _ your _ last semester, but you know what I mean!”  _

As Adora approached the street on which Swiftwinds was located, the only indication of her destination was a large neon sign perched on top of the building that bore only the word “bar.” 

She hastened her footsteps over the cracked, gray sidewalk as she got closer, eager to find her friends and have a couple drinks after a long evening of pretending to listen to another of her mom’s spiels. She only knew for sure that she had found the same bar they discovered two years ago by the small, delicate wooden sign that hung directly over the door and bore the bar’s name in intricate but faded lettering and a carving of a pegasus. 

When she entered the establishment, her ears were bombarded by the voice of a woman on a small platform, speaking emphatically into a microphone hooked up to a monitor. 

“That’s right, everyone! Karaoke is up and running! We’ve got a whole book of songs to choose from, so step right up!”

Adora looked around the room at the handful of patrons inside. None of them seemed inclined to move from their seats. The woman with the microphone, who wore all red and sported short, bleached hair, let her face fall for just a moment. 

“No takers?” She glanced around hopefully one more time before accepting that no one was going to volunteer themselves to sing. “W-well that’s alright! I’ll just kick things off. Feel free to come on up if the mood strikes ya!” 

Adora fought the urge to cringe in sympathy. Standing up in front of people and trying to initiate a group activity was no easy feat.

“That’s Scorpia, the manager.” 

“Agh!” 

Adora leapt into the air and turned, startled, to find that Bow and Glimmer had appeared in the doorway behind her. Glimmer smirked and dropped a hand on Adora’s shoulder, not bothering to suppress her giggle at Adora’s reaction. 

Glimmer turned to Bow, her voice bright with sarcasm. “Gosh, Bow, for someone who claims to be our best friend, you’d think she would be happier to see us.” 

Bow slung his arms around both of their shoulders and squeezed them into a sincere half hug. With a wide smile, he replied, “I bet she’s just thirsty. It is Thursday, after all. I think we’ll all be happier with a drink in us. First round is on me!”

He shuffled to stand between the two, still clutching their shoulders, and directed them toward the bar that spanned the length of the far wall. 

Then Adora caught sight of the bartender, and her jaw dropped open so fast she was afraid it might have unhinged completely. 

Adora wracked her brain to find the right word to describe the girl behind the bar. When it didn’t materialize in her mind, she settled on  _ gorgeous _ , but even that she didn’t think fully encapsulated the young woman who effortlessly mixed and shook a drink in a tumbler while making easy conversation with a tan, blonde woman at the end of the bar who kept glancing over her shoulder at Scorpia. 

The bartender had short, choppy brown hair that was just long enough in the front to occasionally fall into her eyes and revealed subtle auburn highlights under the dim lighting. She flashed a smile, and Adora fully forgot to breathe for a very drawn out moment. Her eyes, which Adora couldn’t say for sure from across the room but could have sworn were two different colors, gleamed as she handed the girl at the bar her drink and jerked her head encouragingly toward Scorpia, who was belting a song into the karaoke microphone as if she were putting on a sold-out concert. 

Adora only realized she had frozen in place when Bow and Glimmer twirled around, wondering why she wasn’t by their side anymore. They met each other’s eyes and adopted matching grins. They knew Adora better than anyone, and the expression of infatuation that had commandeered her face was unmistakable. 

They strode carefully back to where she stood and took up position on either side of her. They looped their arms through both of hers, and Bow nudged her gently with his elbow. 

He kept his voice low when he asked, not unkindly, “See something you like?”

Adora’s voice evaded her, but she managed to force out in a strangled whisper, “Who is that?”

This time, Glimmer did manage to stifle her laughter as she rested her chin on Adora’s shoulder. “That’s Catra. She started working here a few months ago. Apparently she’s our most popular bartender.” 

Adora just nodded. That logic tracked. Even from her vantage point observing from a distance, Adora could feel that Catra radiated confidence and charisma. 

Bow locked his arm more securely around hers and tugged her in the direction of the bar again.”Come on, let’s go meet her!”

Adora’s eyes grew even wider as her body flooded with nerves. Her heart rate picked up until it felt like one long, ceaseless hum, and her cheeks flushed a deep shade of pink. “What? No! No, no, no, no. Wait-”

Glimmer pulled on her other arm so that she and Bow were practically dragging Adora across the floor. “It’s fine, Adora. She’s perfectly friendly, usually.”

Adora let out an extended, high-pitched whine under her breath until her friends bodily deposited her on one of the stools. 

Catra faced the trio as Bow and Glimmer took their own seats. She grinned at Glimmer and leaned against the countertop, familiarity evident in the twinkle in her eye. 

“Well, well. Good to see you again, Sparkles.”

Glimmer simpered in an overly saccharine manner. “Oh, Catra, you flatter me.”

Catra chuckled. “You having the usual?”

Adora’s already thrumming heartbeat pounded even harder. Catra’s voice was low and lovely. It wasn’t deep, exactly, but it was… smoky. Like good whiskey, colored with toasty caramel, with rich oak and sweet cherry. 

“Definitely,” Glimmer chirped to Adora’s left. “But first, I think my friends and I could use a shot.”

One of Catra’s eyebrows quirked upward as she turned an appraising eye on Bow and Adora. Adora clutched the counter with a whiteknuckled grip in her effort not to shrink under the gaze that swept over her. 

Adora averted her eyes, but she could feel Catra continuing to watch her as she produced the shot glasses from underneath the bar and lined them up. 

“Special occasion?” Catra queried. 

Bow decided to answer, clearly picking up on the fact that Adora had again found herself unable to make use of her vocal chords. 

“Well it’s our first time coming here since Glimmer became a co-owner! Plus, Adora and I just started our final semester of college. I guess we’re celebrating our last first Thirsty Thursday.” 

Adora saw his shoulders sag a bit as he finished speaking, no doubt feeling the first pangs of sentimentality as they charged onward toward finishing school and taking up residence in the real world. She gave his forearm a quick squeeze.

Catra nodded to herself, taking in the information, then deftly pulled a bottle from the shelf behind her and poured their shots. 

“Sounds like a tequila kind of night to me.” 

Nervous system still firing, the second her shot was poured, Adora snatched the glass and threw back the drink, hoping that the inevitable burn in her throat might distract from the inexplicable panic she was feeling at being faced with this girl. She wasn’t prepared for the way the booze sat on her tongue even after she swallowed, and she made a face at the taste of it but otherwise managed to keep her cool.

Catra, Bow, and Glimmer all gaped at her for a second, surprised by the swiftness and ease with which she had downed the liquor. Then, Catra’s expression transformed into an impressed grin. 

“Damn. My kind of girl.” 

The deep breath Adora had just taken to regain her composure was for naught as her cheeks reddened with another blush. 

“Adora!” Glimmer looked at her incredulously. “You didn’t even wait for us to cheers! This is a semi-momentous night, there should be a toast.”

Adora smiled guiltily at her friend then regarded Catra with curiosity when she wordlessly took Adora’s empty shot glass and refilled it. 

With a wink and a shrug, the bartender stated, “This one’s on me,” before she moved down the bar to check on her other customers. 

Adora watched her retreat until Glimmer kicked her foot. She and Bow were both holding their shot glasses in the air. 

“See, in polite society, we wait for our friends so we can take our shots all together.”

Adora rolled her eyes but acquiesced and lifted her second tequila. 

With a fond grin, Bow recited their usual mantra, “To lovers and friends.”

“Lovers and friends!” Glimmer and Adora echoed. 

The three of them clinked their tiny glasses together, tapped the bottoms of their glasses on the countertop to pay respect to the bar, then brought the liquid to their lips and sucked it down. 

The second shot went down much smoother than the first, so Adora looked on with amusement as Bow was unsuccessful in pushing down a coughing fit and Glimmer reached over the bar, flipped open a box, and pulled out a lime wedge, which she proceeded to stuff between her teeth to counteract the overbearing piquancy of the tequila. 

The two shots Adora had taken eased some of the tension her body had been holding on to by the time Catra returned to their end of the bar to make Glimmer her usual and find out what else Bow and Adora might like to drink. 

While Catra made Glimmer’s negroni, Bow ordered a double IPA along with a shot of Montenegro, and Adora couldn’t help but gawk at Catra’s hands and the dexterity they displayed as she shaved off a strip of an orange’s peel, worked it over the top of the negroni’s lowball glass for the aroma, and twisted it into a spiral to garnish it, all seemingly in one seamless motion.

Once Bow’s drinks were in front of him, Catra cocked her head at Adora. “Anything for you, princess?”

Adora bit down on the inside of her cheek, a bit taken aback by the nickname. Under any other circumstances, it would have come across to her as rude and condescending, but the way Catra said it, it just sounded… endearing. Flirtatious, even. 

Feeling emboldened, whether by the bit of alcohol already in her system or by the way Catra looked at her when she asked, she couldn’t be sure, Adora tilted forward and rested her chin on her hand as she surveyed the various bottles that lived behind the bar.

After a minute of contemplation, she steeled her gaze on Catra and asked, “What would you recommend?” 

Catra considered, then got to work on a drink without verbally answering the question. Adora kept her eyes trained on her with rapt attention as she gathered ingredients and started mixing. 

Adora only registered it passively when Bow and Glimmer angled their bodies away from the bar and exchanged a look behind her back. 

Adora beamed with delight when Catra set the freshly poured drink in front of her. She had seen whiskey and simple syrup go into it, among other things, and it was topped with a splash of red wine, which mingled with the yellowish color of the base of the drink in pretty swirls of pink and orange. 

“House specialty. I call it the Cat’s Meow.” 

Glimmer cackled and scoffed at Catra’s smug mug. “‘Cat’s Meow’? Bitch, that’s a New York sour.”

Catra’s arrogance dropped a smidge. “Well, okay yeah, but that name’s no fun.”

Adora giggled and Glimmer shook her head.

Scorpia, who was still the only one willing to take the karaoke mic, started a new, upbeat song, and Bow and Glimmer, hearing the beat, chugged what remained of their drinks and got up to dance. Adora thought about joining them for all of half a second before she turned back to Catra, who was regarding her with slightly hooded eyes. 

Catra picked up a glass and cleaned it nonchalantly with a rag. “So, your name’s Adora?”

Adora nodded mutely for a few seconds before Catra’s smirk prompted her to speak. “Um, yeah. And you’re Catra,” she pronounced lamely. She had meant for it to come out more commanding, but her words didn’t seem to be cooperating with her intentions. She sipped at her Cat’s Meow to keep her mouth busy. 

Catra licked her lips before they turned up in a sincere smile. “Adora…” Catra seemed to roll the name around in her mouth to see how it tasted. “That’s pretty.” 

Adora met her gaze, and suddenly the warmth that was spreading through her body from the alcohol multiplied.

Another customer flagged Catra down, and as she made her way over to tend to them, she uttered to Adora over her shoulder, “It suits you.”

Adora remained in her seat at the bar for the majority of the night. When Catra wasn’t dealing with the other patrons, she leaned by Adora’s end of the bar and flirted. Adora couldn’t say she disliked the attention. When her buzz fully set in, her nerves were relegated to the back of her mind, and she flirted right back. There was no denying that she had felt an immediate, and embarrassingly disarming, attraction to Catra, and she was exceedingly pleased to find that it wasn’t one-sided. 

Bow and Glimmer spent their night consistently darting back and forth between the bar and the dance floor. As the night wore on and the alcohol settled resolutely in their systems, Bow and Glimmer danced progressively closer together. Adora turned and watched them affectionately when Catra pointed out that they were basically on top of one another. 

“Yeah, they’ve been in love pretty much as long as we’ve all known each other, but they’re both too scared to admit it.” 

Adora had asked each of them about it separately in the past. Bow and Glimmer always insisted that they were just friends in a way that made it clear neither of them wanted to make a move that might ruin their friendship. They were best friends first. Adora figured it was best to let them figure it out in their own time. 

Eventually, it came time for the Best Friends Squad to call it a night. Bow and Adora had class the next day, and they had already stayed out quite a bit later than they had planned on. 

Catra grimaced regretfully when Adora pulled out her wallet. “Usually when a pretty girl lets me talk her ear off all night, I offer to buy her drinks.” She rubbed at the back of her neck in a surprising show of bashfulness. “But you and your friends aren’t lightweights, and business hasn’t exactly been booming lately, so I can’t really afford to take the hit right now, and neither can the bar. Chivalry is dead, and capitalism killed it.” 

Adora waved her off, the implied apology not necessary, even as a wave of guilt washed over her due to her relationship to Horde. As much as she wanted to distance herself from it, she knew that her mother was the driving force behind the gentrification of Etheria, and she was well aware of the fact that people of color and members of the LGBTQUIA+ community were always the first to be driven out. Depressing as it was, it was no surprise that a local queer bar like Swiftwinds would face financial distress in the midst of Horde’s takeover. 

With that in mind, and eager to let Catra know that her… above average customer service was appreciated, Adora paid her bill and left a 100% tip with a note bearing her phone number and a winky face. 


	2. A Push and a Shove

Bow and Adora raced across campus, bickering as they ran. They were both still a bit hungover from the night before and barely managed to wake up for their shared 11AM art history course. It wasn’t exactly the crack of dawn, but to be fair, they were college students, and it was a Friday.

“Hurry up, Bow, we’re going to be late!”

“I told you we didn’t have time to stop for coffee!”

“Well, I’m not the one who took forever in the shower!”

“Excuse you, I’m not the one who took ten extra minutes to fix my hair!”

“Why would you say that? You know I’m self-conscious about my hair!”

“Okay, I’m sorry! Can we please stop making conversation while we run? I’m already dry heaving.” 

“Whoever said exercise was the best hangover cure is the world’s biggest asshole. I might keel over and die.”

“Ugh, this is what we get for registering for a morning class on Fridays.”

They panted heavily as they entered the lecture hall, doing their best to appear nonchalant and like they didn’t just sprint the entire way there. They moved slowly inside and searched the nearly full classroom for two seats together. 

It wasn’t often that students in their senior year who had declared different majors ended up in the same class. Fortunately for them, this course on art movements of the 20th century fulfilled requirements for both Adora’s art major and Bow’s history major, as it was cross-listed in both departments. 

Adora spotted a pair of seats next to each other and made a beeline for them, towing Bow along with her by the wrist. The chairs were in the very middle of the lecture hall, so they were forced to shuffle awkwardly past a number of their already seated classmates, knocking knees and muttering apologies as they went. 

Adora dropped into her seat with a huff and smiled at Bow, relieved to sit down after their unplanned morning exercise. The professor at the front of the room was still organizing her materials, so Adora took her time getting settled.

As she leaned forward to pull her notebook out of her backpack, she glanced impassively at the person sitting on her other side then did a dramatic double-take. She stared unblinkingly at her desk neighbor for an amount of time and with a shocked intensity that was definitely too long and too high for any reasonable person to do so.

After a moment, the girl must have felt Adora’s eyes on her, and she turned her head questioningly at the same time Adora said her name in bewilderment.

“Catra?”

Surprise was evident in Catra’s expression as well. She opened her mouth to respond, but cut herself off when the professor dimmed the lights to quiet the students and direct their attention to the slideshow she had running over the projector. 

The professor welcomed them all to the class and instructed them to call her by her first name, Darla, then went about getting copies of the syllabus passed around. On the screen at the front of the class, the slideshow flipped lethargically through pages describing the nature of the coursework and the school’s familiar academic integrity policies. 

Movement at her side directed Adora’s attention to Catra’s hand, which was sliding a note onto her desk. She raised an eyebrow and shot Catra an inquisitive look, and Catra just shrugged and nodded to the slip of paper. Adora unfolded it to reveal the words,  _ Hey Adora. _

She chuckled and quickly scrawled her own note, making a show of pretending to stretch as she dropped in on Catra’s desk. 

_ Hey Catra. What are you doing here? _

Catra smirked. 

_ Learning, hopefully. Isn’t that why you’re here? _

Adora bit her lip.

_ Right. Duh. I didn’t realize you were a student here! _

Catra bobbed her head side to side a bit as she wrote her response.

_ Technically I’m not.  _

Adora’s eyebrows scrunched in confusion.

Her next note to Catra read:  _??? _

Catra breathed a small laugh through her nose.

_ Not  _ _ yet _ _ , I mean. I’m auditing classes here and there while I save up for tuition. _

“Ah,” Adora said out loud. She grimaced and ducked her head when several heads turned at the sound. Bow bit down on his thumb to prevent himself from giggling and gave Catra a tiny wave. Catra nodded to him in greeting then pulled a face and jerked a thumb at Adora in response to the goofiness of his friend. 

Adora and Catra continued to pass notes through the entirety of class, pausing to jot down information from the lecture when needed. She could feel Bow watching them subtly and pretended not to notice his good-natured, knowing smirk.

When the class was dismissed, Adora informed Catra that she and Bow were going to meet up with Glimmer for lunch and told her that she should join them. 

“You sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

Bow smiled brightly and slung a strong arm around Catra’s shoulders. 

“You’re not intruding, you’re our friend! Come on, it’ll be fun.”

The three of them walked to a diner a few blocks away from campus and chatted jovially as they went. Madame Razz’s was one of Etheria’s best-kept secrets, and a favorite spot of the Best Friends Squad. 

It was a classic 50’s style diner filled with chrome-topped tables and had a long counter with retro bar stools that sat in front of the window that opened into the kitchen. The smell of fry oil was thick in the air, but not so much so that it became oppressive. It was more of a warm, cozy addition to the comfortable atmosphere.

“The pies here are legendary!” Bow exclaimed when Catra asked if the food was any good. 

Glimmer was already there when they arrived, having claimed their usual booth by the window. Adora slid in opposite her and grabbed Catra’s hand so she would sit beside her. The place was mostly empty save for a few people people scattered around finishing their meals and someone sipping coffee from a mug at the counter.

The old woman who ran the place, and for whom it was named, bustled over to their table, fishing a pen out of the depths of her apron pocket. Her eyes lit up when they landed on Adora’s face.

“Mara, dearie! It’s been so long!”

Adora sighed but didn’t bother correcting her. “Hey, Razz, good to see you! I don’t think we’re quite ready to order just yet.”

She flipped open her menu even though she already knew she was going to take advantage of the diner’s all-day breakfast and order the eggs benedict.

Catra caught her eye, looking baffled. “Did she just call you ‘Mara’?”

Adora took a breath and explained: Mara was her older sister, who she, apparently, bore a passing resemblance to. They were technically half-sisters, and despite having the same mother, whose hair was a stark jet black, the only distinguishable shared feature Adora could find between them was the same thick, blonde locks. That seemed to be enough for Razz, though. 

Mara had attended Bright Moon University several years prior and had been a regular at Madame Razz’s for the duration of her college experience before she graduated and ran off to volunteer with Doctors Without Borders and then stayed abroad to “follow her joy” with her “gal pal,” Hope. 

Catra nodded as she took in the information. “I take it the air quotes around ‘gal pal’ means it’s a euphemism? Your sister’s gay too?”

“Well, she hasn’t said anything official about it to me, but the last time I heard from her, she said she was going to get flowers for Hope when she hung up, so my instincts say there’s something going on there. But wait,” she darted her eyes rapidly to Bow and Glimmer, “What do you mean, ‘too?’” Adora leaned back haughtily. “Who said I was gay?” 

Catra’s face went pale as she hurried to backpedal. “Oh, shit, I- I’m sorry, I just assumed-” 

The end of her stumbling apology was lost when Adora, Bow, and Glimmer burst into unbridled laughter, none of them able to hold a straight face for long. 

Adora brought a hand to Catra’s shoulder and gave it a gentle, coy push. She enjoyed having the upper hand, if only for a moment. “I’m totally kidding, I am definitely a lesbian.”

Catra blew out a breath and the sudden tension in her shoulders eased. “Good.” The tension came right back. “I mean, good, like, good for you.”

Catra stared down at the table in front of her, looking like she couldn’t believe how well her foot fit in her mouth. Adora, Bow, and Glimmer succumbed to another round of boisterous hilarity. 

Adora couldn’t speak for the other two, but she found this version of Catra remarkably charming. The smooth-talking, charismatic Catra from the bar the night before made her heart pound, but this softer-spoken, humble Catra, Adora realized with interest, made her heart warm. 

She was still smiling softly at the girl beside her when Razz came back to their booth to take their orders, and Adora was relieved that she hadn’t been caught gawking as they all turned their attention to the kindly old woman. She knew from the night before that Catra found her attractive, but that was no guarantee that her interest extended anywhere beyond a superficial physical attraction. 

Bow ordered a cheeseburger and made sure to ask for extra fries, because he had learned from experience that Glimmer and Adora were experts at stealing them from his plate when he wasn’t looking. 

Adora stuck to her initial decision and got the eggs benedict, Glimmer got chicken and waffles, and Catra asked for a slice of the pie of the day. 

“Gotta see if it lives up to the hype.” 

The food came out quickly, and as they dug in, the conversation between the four of them continued to flow. 

“So, Catra,” Glimmer sputtered through a mouth full of chicken, “You were in class with Bow and Adora? I’m surprised we haven’t seen you around campus before.” 

Catra licked some pie filling off her fork. “Yeah, I’m not actually enrolled yet. I don’t have anyone to foot the bill, and I spent all my savings when I moved into the city a few months ago. I’ll hopefully have enough money from working at Swiftwinds to afford tuition for the fall as long as I qualify for a scholarship.” 

“That’s awesome!” Bow chimed in with an enthusiastic thumbs-up. 

Catra chuckled. “Thanks. It’ll definitely be weird being a twenty-one year old freshman, but it’s an important step. Or whatever.” 

“Aw, you’re only twenty-one?” 

Adora covered her face with her hand to hide her amusement when Glimmer reached over and pinched Catra’s cheek. Glimmer was always the type to be a bit over the top with her displays of affection through mockery. She felt compelled to come to Catra’s defense. 

“Glimmer, you’re barely older than her. You only turned twenty-two like a month ago.” 

“She’s just glad she’s not the baby of the group anymore,” Bow turned it on Glimmer and knocked her shoulder with his.

Catra looked around at the three of them, her blue and golden-brown eyes wide, a hint of disbelief crystalline in her words. “Wait, I’m part of the group? Just like that? This is like, the first time we’ve all actually hung out.”

Adora clasped her hands together in her lap, filled with a sudden and urgent eagerness, and leaned slightly closer to Catra. “Only if you want to be. But, for the record, I think I speak for all of us when I say we’d love to have you.” 

Catra grinned tentatively. “Well, when you put it that way… I guess I’m in?” 

Glimmer beamed, and Bow practically shouted as he threw up a pair of jazz hands, “Welcome to the Best Friends Squad!” 

Catra fell back in her seat a little bit, and her shoulder almost imperceptibly brushed Adora’s arm. Adora held still, not wanting to break the contact. Catra stared at the three of them for a moment, incredulous. 

“Seriously? That’s what you call yourselves?”

“It was Bow’s idea,” Glimmer was quick to clarify.

“It grows on you.” Adora shrugged and forked a bite of her eggs into her mouth. Her eyes twinkled and she mirrored the soft upturn of Catra’s lips. 

The four of them ate happily, joking and enjoying each other’s company. Adhering to Bow’s self-fulfilling prophecy, Adora and Glimmer snuck half of his french fries off of his plate. Catra’s pie was demolished within a few moments, and she eagerly flagged Razz down for another piece.

Before long, Bow announced that he had to be on his way to his next class. Glimmer offered to walk him out; she needed to go meet with Spinerella and Netossa to brainstorm about promoting the bar.

Adora turned and faced Catra, and a minor rush of nervous hopefulness swept over her. “I don’t have anywhere to be, do you?” 

Catra shook her head, and she and Adora settled back into their seats. 

Adora tapped her chin. “You know, this place has really good milkshakes. Would you… want to split one?” 

Catra’s eyebrows lifted. “I love milkshakes.” 

“Me too.” Adora fought an inexplicable urge to reach out and take Catra’s hand. Instead, she called out to Razz, who bustled about behind the counter, “Hey Razz, could we get a vanilla malt with two straws?” 

Razz nodded, and minutes later the dessert drink was set on their table with a wink. 

Adora and Catra kept their eyes trained on each other as they both leaned forward and took a straw between their lips.

When they’d both had a taste, Catra’s tongue poked out to lick her lips. Adora asked, “So? What’d I tell you? It’s good, right?”

Adora’s pulse quickened when she saw the tinies blush creep into the tips of Catra’s ears. 

“Best milkshake ever.” 

They ended up hanging out in Madame Razz’s for the better part of the afternoon, until Catra couldn’t put off leaving to get ready for her shift at Swiftwinds any longer. They’d talked about their hobbies and interests, about what they wanted to do for a living when they finished their tenure in college, about the past and the future, and about their families, or lack thereof. 

_ “Yeah, I never knew my dad. I don’t think Mara knew hers either. Our mom never talks about them. She doesn’t really talk about anything if it isn’t work-related.”  _

_ “I never had a real family. I got left at a fire station when I was a baby. They found me right next to a box of kittens. I basically grew up bouncing around foster homes, and then I just couch surfed when I got older. I think that’s part of why I’m so committed to going to college. It’ll be nice to be settled in one place for a while.”  _

They joked about their friends, compared favorite books and TV shows, and Adora found that she just really enjoyed being around Catra.

By the time they exited the diner, the sun was just about to set. They paused by the corner of the building and looked at each other expectantly. 

Catra rubbed at the back of her neck absently. “So… as far as first dates go, this was a pretty good one.” 

Adora felt time stop for just a moment when she heard the word “date.” Suddenly her palms were sweaty, so she decided to cross her arms and counter with banter.

“A date? Is that what this was?”

Catra bit her lip then rolled her eyes and smirked. ”Well, I guess that depends. It started as a group-hang kind of deal, for sure, but then you made that whole milkshake move, so…”

Adora conceded. “Well, okay, I guess that was kind of a…”  _ Come-on? Move straight out of a rom-com?  _ “Date-like… thing. But I only did that because you kept flirting with me!”

Catra brought a hand to her chest, acting scandalized. 

”Me! You were the one who kept batting your eyelashes and giving me those playful shoves.”

“Oh, playful shoves, huh? You mean like this?” Adora giggled and demonstrated with a light push on one of Catra’s shoulders.

“Actually, I think it went a little more like this.”

They chased each other around the area beside the diner, shoving at each other lightheartedly, not really paying attention to their setting until Adora ended up pushing Catra up against the wall.

Breathing slightly harder than normal, they gazed at each other for a lengthy moment with matching pairs of wide eyes. Adora’s hands were still braced against Catra’s collarbones, and only a few inches stood between their bodies. Adora felt a heat growing inside her, a want.

Before she could chicken out, Adora forced herself to speak. ”You know, I can say definitively that this wasn’t a date.” Catra’s brow furrowed in disappointment at that, and it was all the encouragement Adora needed to finish her thought. “If it were, there would have been a kiss.”

She felt Catra’s breathing halt momentarily and saw her mouth drop open just a centimeter. She was in the middle of congratulating herself for causing the desired effect on the girl she had pinned to the wall, when Catra seized her head between her hands and brought their lips crashing together.

Adora squeaked in surprise even as her eyes slammed shut and she kissed back. She felt Catra’s mouth form a smirk as their lips pressed together, and Adora just knew that she was in the process of congratulating  _ herself _ for getting her own reaction out of Adora. 

Adora brought her hands to Catra’s waist as one of Catra’s hands snaked its way over her neck into her hair, her fingertips burning a hot trail on Adora’s skin. She took half a step forward, pressing her body closer to Catra’s and consequently pressing Catra more firmly against the brick at her back. 

Catra took Adora’s bottom lip between both of hers and grazed it lightly with her teeth. They both breathed heavily through their noses, neither of them willing to break the contact of the kiss. Adora reveled in the softness of Catra’s lips, the smoothness of her skin, the rising temperature between them as their chests heaved and collided in synchrony. 

When they finally broke apart, they both panted through flushed cheeks. Both of their pupils were blown. 

Adora ran a hand through her hair as she struggled to calm her racing heart. She leaned against the wall beside Catra, who bit her lip and let her eyes flutter closed again. 

“I really wish I didn’t have to go to work right now.” 

Adora released an airy chuckle. “We’ll just have to pick this back up later, I guess.” 

Catra took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The expression on Catra’s face made Adora feel like a feather could have knocked her off her feat. 

“Count on it.” 

* * *

A few days later, at Horde headquarters, Adora sat in on a board meeting, at her mother’s insistence. 

Her mom and herself aside, the faces that surrounded the long, pristine conference table were those of old, deathly pale men. Their voices droned monotonously, to the point where Adora had no idea which of the ghastly carbon copies was actually speaking. Eventually, the sound seemed to meld into one long, low buzz that faded in and out of comprehensibility. Occasionally, she caught a word like “restructure” or “monetize,” but given her disinterest, it all went over her head.

She spent the whole meeting dozing in her chair, just conscious enough to make sure she looked like she was listening. 

Adora jolted back into awareness when her mother called the meeting to its end and dropped a commanding hand onto her shoulder. 

“Adora, come with me. We need to have a talk.” 

Shadow Weaver led the way back to her office, sweeping importantly past the desks and offices of her submissives. Adora perched apprehensively on the edge of a chair as her mother settled intimidatingly behind her desk. 

Adora felt a few beads of sweat form on her brow as she wondered just how much trouble she was about to get in for slacking off during the meeting. She knew her mom prided her company on its efficiency and her own dedication, so the fact that Adora, the proverbial and literal heir to her throne, had had drool slipping onto her chin by the end of her expenditure presentation could only be a precursor to some kind of not-so-mildly threatening scolding. 

“I think it’s time for you to take a more active role in the business.” 

Or not. 

Adora relaxed a bit in her seat and her expression brightened, pleasantly surprised that her mom hadn’t excused the two of them to her private office in order to yell at her. Shadow Weaver was a difficult woman to read, but usually when she took the time to have a moment with her daughter out of earshot of others, it was for the express purpose of admonishing Adora for failing to live up to the expectations Shadow Weaver set before her. 

But then, almost as immediately as her heart had lightened in response to her mother’s implicit approval of her, it constricted with remorse. Taking a more active role at Horde would inevitably mean being more directly involved in the capital system that functioned in opposition to the work and well-being of her friends. 

Adora thought about Glimmer and how passionate she was about Swiftwinds, how getting involved in a local small business had given her a sense of purpose and community. 

She thought about Catra, who she was already developing feelings for and how working at the bar was the only way she’d be able to go back to school. 

She thought about the fact that Etheria was a college town, and if everything around the school got bougie and expensive the way that Horde’s projections strove for, Bright Moon University’s prices would rise to match, and kids like Bow, whose fathers had to put thirteen kids through college, wouldn’t be able to send them there.

Adora bit down on the inside of her cheek. She was elated that her mom seemed to be regarding her with satisfaction, even with pride, for once, but she also knew that her conscience would never let her so actively contribute to the downfall of all the things that made Etheria’s populace and commonwealth unique and self-sufficient. 

“Mom, I… thank you for the offer, but…” She wracked her brain for an excuse. “I’m in my senior year of college, I’m really busy with classes. I’ve got a million projects that I’ll need to spend my time on, plus I just started kind of seeing someone-” 

“Seeing someone?” Shadow Weaver’s eyes flared. 

Adora clamped her mouth shut. She hadn’t meant to reveal that to her mother yet. She swallowed and answered reluctantly, “Um, yeah. Her name is Catra-”

“If you have time to date, then you have time to accept your birthright and start taking steps toward managing the company I’ve spent my whole life building.” 

Shadow Weaver went on for the next several minutes about familial responsibility and professional accountability. She was still grumbling to herself when Adora got up to leave. 

Adora blinked back tears when she walked out the door and heard her mom mutter something about “wasting time on those art classes” and “doesn’t understand how life really works.”

Adora rode the elevator down the lobby and made the trek home in a somber silence. 


	3. Want

Adora sat at the kitchen table with Bow, Glimmer, Seahawk, and Mermista as they passed around dishes at their weekly house dinner. Almost all of their furniture was second-hand, so none of their chairs matched, and they each sat at slightly different heights. Mermista glowered at everyone, having been last to the table and stuck with the shortest seat; her scowling face was just barely visible over the surface of the tabletop. 

Adora spooned a heaping pile of tomato-feta salad onto her plate as Bow filled them all in on the state of his classes. 

His eyes were bright as he told them all about his coding class and the history report he had just finished about some incredible civil rights activists. Adora beamed back at him when he recounted what the two of them were learning in their art history class. She nodded along and affirmed his excitement between mouthfuls of food. 

“What about you, Adora? Classes going well?”

“Yeah!” Adora continued to shovel bites of her dinner into her mouth as she spoke. “I mean, the business stuff is boring, but it’s not super difficult or anything. My drawing and painting studios are amazing, though. And my professors have really been responding to my projects. I can’t wait for the end-of-year art show. All of the senior studio majors are showing our work, and it’ll be open to the public, so I could actually get my work and my name out there.”

Her housemates uttered their congratulations and encouragement. Glimmer poked her in the side.

“Are you allowed to sell your pieces? I know my parents would be interested. Ever since I showed them pictures of your last work-in-progress, they haven’t stopped asking me when they can buy something from you.” 

Adora beamed. “I- yeah, of course! They get the friends and family discount, obviously.” 

Glimmer rolled her eyes. “Adora, don’t be stupid. My parents are fucking loaded and consider themselves  _ benefactors of the arts _ ,” she lifted a hand into the air and put on a posh accent. “They’d be offended if you didn’t charge them whatever you think your art is actually worth.” 

Adora dropped her eyes to her plate even as a tiny grin worked its way into her expression. “Okay.” 

“Honestly, overcharge them. I know you think the whole starving artist aesthetic is all romantic and shit, but like, none of us want you to actually starve.”

Adora shook her head. “Alright, alright.” 

Adora appreciated the support, but she was ready for the conversation to move on. In her mind, she knew that undercharging for her art was only a detriment to herself and her work, but there was a deeply rooted seed of doubt in the back of her head that always tried to convince her that if she asked for too much, she would get passed over for someone whose prices were lower and her work would go unseen entirely, not to mention the fact that she was still a student and couldn’t fathom her work being worth a significant amount anyway. 

“Mermista, Seahawk, how are things with you?”

Mermista talked about biology, and Seahawk talked about anthropology, and they both talked about First Ones Coffee. 

Mermista crossed her arms and blew a strand of hair out of her face with a frown. “Things at the coffee shop have like, really slowed down recently. The regulars don’t come in as often, and all the snobby people moving into town just go to the chain coffee places. That means basically no tips  _ and _ no social interaction. It’s like a slow death at this point.” 

Seahawk nodded in agreement and stroked his mustache. “It is unfortunate. I quite enjoyed the rousing chit chat I used to have with the customers that came in every day. We used to get a rush on a daily basis, like clockwork! These days, the shop is practically barren, and my Mermista and I have next to no one but ourselves for company!” 

His head fell to the table dramatically. Bow reached over and gave him a couple of comforting pats on the back. 

Glimmer’s eyes shone sympathetically. “I know what you mean. Swiftwinds is definitely struggling to bring people in too.” 

“Well,” Bow chirped in an attempt to keep everyone’s spirits up, “you can count on us to be regular customers, at least!” He kicked Adora’s shin under the table. “Right, Adora?”

Adora winced but did her best to put an optimistic smile on her face. “Right! Of course! We’re in our twenties, all our money goes to coffee and booze anyway.” 

“In fact,” Bow clapped. “Let’s all go for a drink together. Is everyone free tomorrow night?” 

All of the heads around the table nodded in confirmation. 

“Sounds good!” Adora’s lips formed a goofy smile. “Catra’s working tomorrow night.” 

Mermista squinted at her with a smirk, not missing the enamored tone in her voice. Bow and Seahawk shot each other a look. None of them could ignore the way Adora’s cheeks got pink and eyes went glassy whenever Catra’s name came up. 

Bow cleared his throat. “So, I take it things are going well with you two?”

Glimmer snorted and poked Adora’s side again. “She’s got Catra’s schedule memorized, I’d say they’re doing just fine.”

Adora’s face went hot, and she focused her gaze once more on her plate. “You’re not wrong.”

* * *

As usual, when they arrived at Swiftwinds the next night, Scorpia was attempting to goad the few customers scattered around the bar into singing karaoke. Adora and her housemates waved to her in greeting and went straight to the bar. 

Catra’s back was turned when they approached as she filled a pint glass for the woman at the end of the bar. It was the same girl who had been there that first Thirsty Thursday of the semester, and just like then, she repeatedly glanced over her shoulder to watch Scorpia’s solo karaoke show. Catra had told Adora that the girl’s name was Perfuma, and that she’d been trying to get her to actually talk to Scorpia for weeks. 

Glimmer’s eyes sparkled with mirth as she called out, “Excuse me, ma’am! My friends and I need drinks.” 

Catra turned and tapped her chin when she caught sight of the group that had entered. “Careful, Miss Glitz. I reserve the right to refuse service.” 

Glimmer clasped her hands together in a convincing mockery of politeness. “Please, miss, we would all be beholden to your courtesy if you would provide us with libations.” 

Catra tossed her hair, taking the faux charm for what it was worth. 

“That’s more like it.” She turned to Adora and her expression softened noticeably. “Hey, babe.” 

Adora leaned forward on the bar. “Hey, yourself.” 

Catra leaned over and pressed a quick, tender kiss to the corner of Adora’s mouth. “So,” she flipped the rag in her hands onto her shoulder and faced the group as a whole, “what’s everybody drinking?”

Seahawk pushed his way to the front of their small crowd. “Do you have jell-o shots?”

While Catra spent the next few minutes going about her business behind the bar, pouring and mixing and showing off a little bit, Adora just watched her and the rest of her friends with a fondness that compressed her heart rather unexpectedly. 

These were her people, and she was theirs. 

She took in their carefree grins, their playful banter, the ease and adoration with which they leaned on each other and shared of themselves. The bonds between them were forged from kindness, humor, trust, and unconditional companionship.

The realization hit Adora in the chest with a force that nearly knocked her from her seat: this was what family was meant to look like.

As Catra set Adora’s drink on the bar, Glimmer unceremoniously jumped onto Adora’s lap and yelled, “Group selfie!” 

Bow, Mermista, and Seahawk gathered around with varying levels of enthusiasm, and Adora reached out and curled a fist into the front of Catra’s shirt to keep her from slinking away. 

Adora cheesed with exuberance and held up her drink. “Everybody say ‘Cat’s Meow!’”

She laughed heartily when Glimmer handed her phone over and she saw Catra’s face in the snapshot, mid-eye-roll and unable to keep a smile at bay. They all looked so happy. Even Mermista cracked a reluctant smile with Seahawk’s arms tightly around her shoulders.

After a couple of rounds, Bow and Glimmer shocked Scorpia nearly to tears by running up to her little stage and asking to sing. They fumbled with the one microphone for a couple of minutes while they worked out what song to perform. 

Then they sang, and it was one of the most ludicrously passionate productions Adora had ever been witness to. The two of them each had both of their hands wrapped around the microphone and clumsily pushed and pulled it back and forth between themselves as they belted out their duet. 

Mermista called over the light din of the bar, “Don’t quit your day jobs!” and Adora elbowed her in reprimand even as she giggled along. 

“You going to get up there and show them how it’s done, then?”

Seahawk raced to their side, his eyes shining with excitement. “Let’s do a shanty!”

“No way,” Mermista said flatly. “I told you, the only acceptable genres to ask me to sing are classic rock, 90’s R&B, and pop punk.”

After a minor dispute, Seahawk relented and agreed to Mermista’s terms. He bounded over to the stage and took charge of the microphone the second Bow and Glimmer finished with their song. Adora chuckled and gestured for Mermista to join him, and her face fell instantly when Mermista grabbed her wrist and forcibly brought her up to the stage with her. 

“If I’m doing this, so are you.”

Adora tried to shrink into the background, but Seahawk promptly hooked one arm around her neck and the other around Mermista’s, and the three of them shared the stage equally. 

Even from up on the platform, Adora could see the amusement on Bow, Glimmer, and Catra’s faces. Each of them had heard her singing in the shower at one point or another, and none of them had any qualms about informing her of her inability to carry a tune. 

Fortunately, she was just tipsy enough to soldier on and brave her way through the song, and both Seahawk and Mermista ended up battling for the spotlight, so Adora’s humiliation was relatively short-lived and painless. 

Their friends laughed and clapped when their song was done, and Scorpia cheered louder than anyone. 

“Wow, you guys! Great job! That was very… energetic!” 

Scorpia pulled them all into a group hug that had their joints knocking awkwardly together, but she was so genuine and encouraged by their participation that they all just thanked her and squeezed her back.

Adora sauntered back over to her stool as Scropia took the stage once again. “Hear that, guys? Scorpia said I was great.”

Glimmer and Catra both shared a glance. Glimmer put a pitying hand on her shoulder. “Sweetie, she said you were  _ energetic _ .” 

Catra smirked. “Adora, you can’t sing to save your life. You know it, we know it, and now the whole bar knows it. Valiant effort, though.” Adora pouted, so Catra shot her a wink and tried to soften the blow. “Don’t worry, it was cute if you didn’t listen too hard.”

Perfuma got Catra’s attention down the bar and requested another drink. Scorpia had launched into another song, and Adora sidled up next to her as she watched Scorpia with wide eyes. 

“She’s pretty cool, right?” 

Adora did her best to sound nonchalant. Perfuma just nodded, her gaze still following Scorpia as she danced around the stage. Catra caught Adora’s eye and they raised their eyebrows at each other conspiratorially. 

Catra braced herself against the bar over Perfuma’s shoulder.

“You know, I bet she’d be  _ so impressed _ if you got up there and did some karaoke.” 

Adora gasped theatrically. “You should ask her to do a duet with you!”

Perfuma glanced back and forth between them warily. “I don’t know…” 

“Oh, come on. What’ve you got to lose?” Catra lowered her voice. “It’s not like you could be any worse than Adora.” 

“Hey!” 

But it did the trick. Perfuma steeled herself and stood. “No, you’re right. I can do this.” She finished her drink in two large gulps and marched intensely toward the little stage, continuing to mumble “I can do this,” to herself on the way.

“Wow,” Catra chuckled, “I spent weeks prodding her in Scorpia’s direction, and all it took was two minutes of you screeching in front of a crowd to convince her to put herself out there.” 

Adora shrugged and bit her lip, choosing to ignore the dig. “It was a team effort.” 

Catra poured them each a shot of Jameson. “I’ll drink to that.” 

As the night wore on, the bar started to clear out. Seahawk and Mermista had slipped away unnoticed earlier. Bow and Glimmer closed out their tab, swaying happily, and Adora bid them goodnight, opting to stay with Catra while she finished her shift. Glimmer blew a kiss back at them as she and Bow swept out the door arm-in-arm.

Catra ran a hand through her hair as she wiped the bar down and watched Adora with a gleam in her eye.

“Nowhere to be?”

Adora shrugged. “Well, I was thinking about going back to your place. Figured I’d wait for you to take me there.” 

Catra shook her head, her chest stuttering with laughter. “There you go flirting again… But that does sound nice.” 

“Yeah, you like it.” Adora cocked her head when Catra scoffed. “You like  _ me _ .” 

Catra was quiet for a moment, then she muttered, “Shut up.”

Adora stayed with Catra through closing, and they walked out of the dark, empty Swiftwinds hand in hand. 

* * *

“I can’t believe this is the first time I’m coming to your apartment.” 

Adora drank in her surroundings, eager to see how her girlfriend lived. It was modest, to be sure, a simple one-bedroom with a closet-sized kitchen and a living room just big enough to squeeze in the tattered sofa and outdated television. 

Catra shuffled around and tried to subtly clean up discarded take-out containers and random articles of clothing that were scattered around the floor. “It’s not exactly a palace…” 

“But it’s yours.” It was small, but everywhere she looked, Adora found evidence of Catra’s inhabitance. A stack of her favorite books stood on a shelf just above the TV, and leaning just beside it was an abstract painting Adora had given her. On the stretch of wall between the kitchen area and the bedroom door hung a framed photo of the two of them that Glimmer had taken when the three of them had gone wandering around town one day. 

Adora started when she spotted movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and refocused her attention on it. She held her hand out slowly but gleefully when a kitten crept silently out of the shadows to inspect her. 

“This must be Melog! Hi, kitty!”

She looked at Catra giddily while Melog sniffed her hand. Catra bent down momentarily and scratched Melog behind the ears. When she straightened her back again, the cat rubbed up against Adora’s open palm and purred before slipping away and seeming to disappear completely among Catra’s few possessions. 

Adora turned back to Catra, who looped her arms around her waist. Their foreheads pressed together and they remained like that for a moment, letting their breath mingle between them. Her hands came to rest on the back of Catra’s neck, and her fingertips scratched lightly into the baby hairs that grew there. Adora breathed the moment in contentedly. 

There was something simultaneously peaceful and exciting about being in Catra’s space like this for the first time. It felt almost like being welcomed into her home was also being welcomed fully and without hesitation into her heart. It wasn’t extravagant or fancy in the least, but it didn’t need to be. It was Catra’s home, and it was an extension of herself. Adora peered into Catra’s eyes and realized she had never felt so wholly intertwined with another person.

“So. Do you, uh, want the tour?” Catra swallowed then gave a humble grin. “There’s not much else to see, but I could… show you the bedroom.” 

Rather than answering, Adora tipped her head and claimed Catra’s lips in a firm kiss. 

Catra reciprocated, matching her eagerness, and soon they were staggering toward Catra’s bed, neither willing to break apart for even a second to look where they were going. Adora’s fingers tangled further into Catra’s hair as Catra gripped one arm more securely around her waist and stuck the other out to feel her way through the apartment. 

Their lips tugged at each other until they parted and their tongues slid over one another. 

Adora’s back hit the doorframe, and a gutteral sound erupted from her throat. Without pausing, Adora ducked her head to trail wet, open-mouthed kisses over Catra’s jaw and down the column of her neck. She ran her tongue along the skin there and sucked on Catra’s pulse point.

Catra seized her hips roughly with both hands and pulled her into the room. She gripped Adora’s chin and brought their mouths back together. 

They both panted, out of breath, when Catra swung Adora’s body around so that the backs of her knees hit the bed and she fell backward onto the mattress with a grunt. Adora stared up at her for a moment, then, without warning, grabbed Catra by the ass, lifted her briefly off the ground, and pulled her onto her lap. 

Catra yelped in surprise before she fused her mouth with Adora’s once more. 

Adora’s body was on fire, and before she knew it, she was directing Catra’s hands to the hem of her shirt and lifting her arms over her head so that Catra could yank it off of her. 

Their clothes flew across the room in all directions as Adora shifted further onto the bed and Catra crawled with her. She hovered on her hands and knees and traced her hands and lips over every conceivable inch of Adora’s skin. 

Adora dragged her nails down the length of Catra’s back then flattened her hands over her spine and nimbly rolled so she was straddling Catra’s hips and pinned her by the shoulders. Catra’s eyes went wide, her eyes nearly black from her blown pupils. 

Adora’s heart pounded so hard she was sure she could hear it reverberating throughout the room. Hands and tongues and teeth connected with skin. Breath came harder and faster. Their bodies became slick with exertion. 

Sighs, moans, and gasps filled the room. Every now and then the bedsprings creaked appreciatively. 

Adora felt her chest flood with warmth anew when Catra collapsed at her side with a gentle, satiated smile unrestrained across her cheeks. 

Adora pressed a clumsy kiss to the side of her neck. “That was…” she trailed off, not needing to finish her thought. 

“I love you.” 

Everything froze. 

Adora gaped at her, mouth wide open, as she struggled to remember how to breathe.

“You do?”

Catra cupped her cheek with her hand, and traced the line of her jaw with one finger. 

“I-I know we’ve only been together for like, a month, but… yeah. I do. And I know it’s really soon to say it, and you don’t have to say it back-”

“I love you too.” 

Adora pulled Catra in for another soft, lingering kiss. They curled up together under Catra’s top sheet, and they laid together, safe in each other’s arms, until they both fell asleep.

* * *

Adora didn’t bother to hide her disdain as she was led through the floor of Horde headquarters that housed the production and innovation teams. She had avoided it as long as she could, but eventually Shadow Weaver saddled her with an “internship” that was a light enough commitment that she couldn’t excuse her way out of. 

The position was impressive enough in title that her mother felt it could give her a sense of what she would be expected to do once she graduated, but in reality she was just shadowing one of the actual interns, who spoke so quickly and with such a vocabulary that even when she did try to listen, Adora barely understood a word of what was being said to her. 

Entrapta was nice enough, and she was clearly invested in the advancement of technology that Horde boasted was one of its main objectives. Her internship was unpaid, but she was fervent about getting her foot in the door while she worked on completing her PhD. 

Entrapta was babbling frenziedly, when Adora’s cell phone buzzed in her pocket. Relieved at the intrusion, Adora held the phone up to indicate that she had to take the call, and stepped away into an empty hallway. 

_ “Hey, sis. It’s been a while.” _

“Hey, Mara. What’s going on?” 

_ “Just wanted to catch up, see how you’re doing. You’re not busy, are you?” _

“No!” Adora was grateful for the opportunity to put her time at the company on pause and was more than happy to stay on the phone. “Not at all. Mom’s making me intern at Horde, so please, stay on the line as long as you want. Or longer! I don’t get to leave here for another three hours.” 

She heard Mara let out an hollow laugh. 

_ “Shit, I’m sorry, dude. She did the same thing to me back in the day.”  _

“She did? I’m sorry back at you, then.” 

_ “Yeah, that’s why I basically ran away the second I graduated. Working for a mass corporation was never what I wanted. I have no interest in being a cog in a faceless machine, not to mention someday being in charge of it. That’s also why I didn’t tell Mom I switched my major from business to pre-med. She really didn’t like finding out about that. You know she hasn’t called me once since I left?” _

“Wait, really? That’s crazy, you’re still her daughter.”

Adora heard her sister expel a long, deep puff of breath through the phone.

_ “Yeah, well, turns out she saw me as more of an heir apparent than anything else. She pushed so hard for me to get involved in the business, but every minute I spent trying to live up to whatever she wanted from me, the less I could bear any of it. It was fucking soul-sucking for me.”  _

“I know what you mean, unfortunately.” Adora rubbed at her face. “Mom said this internship was-”

_ “The first rung on your ladder to success?” _

“Exactly.” Adora let her back slide down the wall until she was sitting. She could practically see Mara throwing her head back in annoyance.

_ “I’m sorry she’s trying to drag you down that path. You’re pretty much her last chance at keeping everything in the family or whatever.”  _ Mara’s tone shifted.  _ “But, hey! You graduate in a few months! What’s next? What do you want to do when it’s all over?” _

Adora chewed on her lip. “I mean… it doesn’t really matter, does it? Mom’s got a position lined up for me as soon as I’m done with school. I guess I haven’t bothered to think any farther because I’m supposed to just jump into that.”

Mara’s voice became stern.

  
_ “Forget about Mom, Adora. It’s your life. You deserve to do something that’ll make you happy. Who cares what a woman whose employees call her ‘Shadow’ thinks? I’m asking  _ you.  _ What do  _ you _ want?”  _


	4. What Makes a Family

Adora cracked her eyes open as mid-morning sunlight forced its way through the shades on her window. It cast a warm, golden glow over the room, and specs of dust danced in and out of the beams. 

The house was quiet, save for the occasional, muted sounds of Glimmer moving about the kitchen downstairs. 

She raised her arms and flexed her toes in a full-body stretch but stilled when an arm tightened its hold around her middle, and she glanced to her side to see Catra shifting under the covers, hugging herself tighter to Adora’s body in her sleep. Her face scrunched slightly as she stirred and then relaxed again when she settled with her head nestled snugly in the dip between Adora’s chest and shoulder. 

Adora looked upon her slumbering girlfriend lovingly and with just a hint of disbelief. Just this, snuggled in bed with Catra, who was snoring so softly it sounded more like a serene hum, felt better than she could have ever imagined. 

Before Catra, she hadn’t known that this particular brand of happiness even existed. This safe, powerful, aching, blissful, exciting,  _ beautiful _ thing, wrapped up in the neat package of Catra’s body clinging to her own. She didn’t know how she had gotten so lucky. She didn’t understand what she could possibly have done to earn this love. 

Adora did her best; she tried so hard, all the time, to be kind and moral and  _ do the right thing _ , but more often than not, it didn’t seem to be enough. There was always a quiet, but forceful, voice echoing in her head that said she should be better.

So when she gazed at Catra sleeping peacefully in her arms, untroubled and soft in her gentlest state, the fact that she was welcomed into this moment remained beyond her comprehension.

She buried her nose in Catra’s hair and breathed deeply. It smelled like home, and Adora’s heart skipped only one beat at the thought. She watched the steady rise and fall of Catra’s chest, noting how her tank top rode up over her midriff to reveal the planes of her abdomen and her sleep shorts bunched over her lean thighs. 

She knew she wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep at this point, so she trailed the tip of her nose over Catra’s cheek and along her neck. Eventually, her nuzzling roused her girlfriend, and Catra opened one eye to appraise Adora in her hazy, post-sleep condition. 

“Hey, Adora.” Her voice was raspy with sleep, and she closed her eyes again as she spoke. 

“Hey.” Adora ran her nose over Catra’s’ neck again, deliberately letting her hot breath glide over the skin. “I had a dream about you.”

At this, Catra’s eyes blinked open with interest, as she had known they would. 

“Oh?”

Adora nodded her head coyly, knowing that putting Catra in a minor state of anticipation was the most effective strategy to keep her from falling back asleep for the rest of the morning. 

“Was it a good dream?”

Adora leaned in and placed a barely-there kiss on Catra’s lips before shifting her face back out of reach when Catra made to follow her mouth. 

“Mmm, it was very good.” 

Catra’s eyebrows sprang upward. 

“And what was I doing in this dream, exactly?”

Catra pulled herself up on her elbows in attempt to reach her again, and Adora knew she’d won. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood with a smug cock of the head. 

“Come downstairs for breakfast with me, and maybe I’ll tell you.”

Catra flopped back on the mattress for a moment and groaned. 

“But that means I have to move from the bed. You know I hate doing that.”

Adora rested her hands on either side of Catra’s shoulders and made her voice low as she put her lips to the shell of Catra’s ear.

“I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

Catra stared at her for a minute with squinting eyes, then she rolled heavily over Adora’s side of the bed until her feet were on the floor and she grabbed Adora’s hips to pull herself up. 

They made their way down to the kitchen, where Glimmer was pushing her fork around a plate of scrambled eggs. Her expression was sullen. 

Catra yawned widely. “Didn’t happen to leave us any coffee, did you, Sparkles?”

Glimmer just grunted and gestured toward the mostly full coffee pot by the sink.

Adora pulled the half-full carton of eggs out of the refrigerator and set them on the counter before she asked, “Everything okay, Glim?”

Glimmer dragged her fork over her plate as she formulated the words to express her discontent. 

“Ugh, I’m fine. I just can’t stop thinking about Swiftwinds. You know we’re losing five customers on average a month? I don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to stay open if all our customers keep getting driven out of town by the rent surges.”

The voice of guilt in the back of Adora’s head rose in volume. 

Catra poured two mugs of coffee, handing one off to Adora with a peck on the cheek before she took a seat beside Glimmer and ruffled her hair so that the pink and purple strands fell in a wave over her eyes. 

Glimmer shot Catra a glare then buried her face in her hands.

“It’s just so unfair!” Glimmer wailed. Adora bit down on the inside of her cheek. “I finally find a passion project and it’s going to fucking die. And it’s not even because I did anything wrong this time!” 

Adora squeezed her eyes shut. The voice in the back of her head elevated to a scream. 

Her mother did this. She was a part of it. 

Glimmer continued to bemoan the situation, citing all of the major brands that were taking over the local store fronts, the affordable housing that was being replaced with fancy and expensive apartment complexes and condominium associations. Catra nodded along and uttered a soothing, “I know, it’s not fair,” every now and then when Glimmer paused to breathe. 

Adora felt a weight beginning to crush her chest. 

Her mother did this. Her mother. 

She was guilty by association. 

She was a participant. She cooperated with Horde. 

She was part of the problem. 

She was the problem. 

This was her fault. 

She did this. 

And her friends had no idea. She’d been lying to them and this was all her fault. 

She’d been lying for years and she was ruining everything the people she loved had worked for.

“I have to tell you something!” The words careened out of her throat before she knew what she was saying.

Glimmer and Catra regarded her with matching wide eyes, surprised by her outburst. 

Adora’s hands trembled as she set her coffee cup on the counter and squared her shoulders. 

“My mom runs Horde.” 

Glimmer stared at her then shook her head as if what she’d just heard was gibberish. Her voice was barely above a whisper and shook with the ghost of a chuckle when she said, “What?”

Adora hung her head. “My mom… Horde is her company.”

Silence. And then-

“WHAT?!”

Glimmer’s face was an explosion of red hot rage.

Adora rushed to explain herself as tears sprang to her eyes. “I’m sorry! I know I should have told you sooner, but I-I was ashamed-”

“I should hope so! What the fuck, Adora?! We’ve been calling it ‘Evil Horde’ for years! And this whole time-”

“I know! I’m sorry, Glimmer, I just didn’t know how to tell you-”

“You didn’t think it would’ve come up one the, I don’t know, hundreds of times we’ve talked about it?”

“I didn’t know what to say!”

“Anything! You could have said anything! ‘Hey Glimmer, how’s it going? By the way my mom is in charge of the company that’s ruining our lives.’”

“I’m not proud of it, okay? I never wanted anything to do with Horde!”

“But you  _ do  _ have something to do with it, Adora! And look where it’s gotten us.”

Glimmer pushed back from the table, her chair screeching over the floor tiles. She stormed from the room without another word. 

Adora felt like her chest was bruised. Like her ribcage had taken a series of hits from multiple baseball bats. It was all her fault.

The tears were flowing freely down Adora’s face. “Glimmer, please! I didn’t-”

Catra caught her around the waist as she made to go after Glimmer. Catra held on tightly, until Adora stopped fighting to run after her friend, and Catra rubbed calming circles into the small of her back. Adora brought her hands to Catra’s shoulder blades and clung on while quaking sobs started to quake through her chest. 

Her secret was out. And with it, a tidal wave of grief and guilt and helplessness that she had plugged up deep within herself.

“I have to go talk to her,” she choked out eventually, drawing back just enough to see Catra’s face. 

Catra used the pad of her thumb to wipe away some of the tears that had collected on her cheek. She stood on her toes to brush a light kiss onto Adora’s forehead. A conflicted flash blinked in and out of her eyes. She was suffering at the hands of Horde too. 

“Let me.” 

Catra strode out to the patio area at the back of the house, where Glimmer paced back and forth between two fold-out lawn chairs and muttered harshly to herself under her breath. 

Catra lowered herself into one of the chairs and crossed her legs. 

“Don’t even think about trying to defend your girlfriend to me right now,” Glimmer huffed, still marching to and fro with a deep frown set in her brow.

Catra observed her for a minute. The back yard was unusually green given the time of year, and a bird sang a bittersweet tune in the distance. It was a bit chilly, Catra still being in her pajamas, but all in all it was a nice day, and Glimmer's outrage looked out of place in the sweet sunlight that shone among the trees. 

“You’re being a little dramatic, don’t you think, Glitter Bomb?”

Glimmer spun to face her, still fuming, with fists clenched at her sides.

“Are you kidding? We’ve been best friends for four years and she never told us that her  _ mother _ is responsible for a super rich company moving in and taking money away from basically all of the vulnerable communities in a thirty mile radius!” 

Catra sighed and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her knees.

“Look, I get you’re mad, but what do you expect her to do? March into mommy’s office and say ‘you’re disenfranchising my friends and that’s really mean’? The people in charge of companies like Horde aren’t swayed by empathy. And Adora obviously isn’t proud of the fact that her mom is the head of it all.” 

“That’s not the point!” Glimmer’s voice was getting shrill as her face distorted with despair. “She’s kept this huge thing hidden from me our entire friendship! How am I supposed to trust her now?”

Catra cast her gaze downward. It was a fair question. But at the same time, Catra knew that when it came to Adora, if there was one thing you could count on, it was her having your back.

“She’s still Adora, Glimmer.” Glimmer’s eyes snapped to Catra’s at the use of her real name. She wasn’t sure if Catra had ever used it before. “She hid something she was ashamed of, but the important thing is that when it came down to it, she came clean. I know it’s hard for you. It is for me too, but it can’t be any easier on her.”

Glimmer glared at her for several tense beats. Then, with a furious growl, she stalked off away from the house. 

Catra rubbed the heels of her hands into her eyes until spots of color burst like fireworks in the blackness behind her eyelids. That… could have gone better. 

She remained where she was for a couple of minutes, then she pushed herself up from the lawn chair and made her way back inside. 

Adora was still at the kitchen table. She sat stooped over her rapidly cooling mug of coffee. A solitary tear dangled from the tip of her nose.

“Crying into your coffee… guess you really are a college student.” Catra squeezed Adora’s shoulder then gently pulled the mug out of her hands to refresh it with a hot pour. 

Quietly, Adora asked, “Do you think she’ll ever forgive me?”

Catra set her topped-off coffee in front of her again and took the seat beside her girlfriend. 

With a deliberately low voice, she answered, without really acknowledging the question, “ You know, something I learned pretty early on in foster care is that love is really a choice. You don’t get to choose who your parents are, or who you fall for, but actually  _ loving people _ , the act of it, that’s something you have to choose. Sometimes the people who are supposed to choose you just… don’t. Making that choice can be the hardest fucking thing in the world. Choosing love can be fucking terrifying.” Adora’s eyes shone as new tears began to build. “But the thing about our friend Sparkles is that she doesn’t back down from a challenge. She may need a bit to process, but you two, and archery boy, you’ve all chosen each other for four years. I wouldn’t count her out just yet.” She lifted Adora’s chin to get her to meet her eye. “You’re not a bad person, Adora. No matter what happens with your mom, or Glitter, or anyone. You’re worth more than the legacy that someone else pushed on you.” She pressed her forehead against Adora’s and finished softly, “No matter what, I choose you.”

* * *

Adora sat across from Bow at a table in a study room on the second floor of Bright Moon University’s arts and humanities library. They were the only ones in the room, and the slight buzz coming from the fluorescent overhead lights filled the silence around them. 

They were supposedly working on the homework assignment for their art history class, but Adora’s eyes passed over the pages of her textbook without taking in a word. She flipped the pages mindlessly for a while before she gazed pleadingly at Bow. 

“Are you sure you forgive me?”

She had revealed her secret to him the night before, hours after her confrontation with Glimmer. 

Glimmer had been avoiding her ever since. 

Bow’s reaction had been decidedly less impassioned. He and Adora had gotten dinner together at the campus food court, and it had taken her until he was preparing to clear his tray to work up the nerve to tell him. 

When the words were out, he had donned an expression of confusion for several moments as he digested the information, then responded in an even tone the word, “Oh.” 

Then he got up and dealt with his trash as well as hers. When he returned to their booth, he folded his hands in front of him, and simply asked, “Why didn’t you tell us before?”

She took her time explaining herself, filling him in on the guilt that had been growing in her chest all this time and the fear she had harbored that they wouldn’t understand how much she hated the situation she was stuck in, that they would leave her. 

He had placed his hand over hers, and he forgave her. 

“I’m sure, Adora,” he replied without looking up from his notebook, where he scrawled dates and names in neat, orderly script. 

Adora leaned forward. “You’re sure that you’re sure? Because I know I really messed up and it would totally make sense if you-”

“Adora.” Bow lifted his eyes in a silencing look. “I promise, I’m sure. Everybody makes mistakes. And more to the point, you aren’t in charge of what your mom does. I get it. Do I wish you had spoken up sooner? Sure. But it was your secret to share in your own time. I hold no hard feelings.” 

Adora sighed gratefully. “Thanks, Bow.” She twisted her fingers in her lap. “But I would still understand if you needed some time-”

“Adora.”

“Okay! Okay.” She slumped down in her chair. “I hope Glimmer sees it that way someday.” 

Bow set his pencil down and watched her sympathetically. 

“She will,” he stated firmly.

“Are you sure?”

“Would you please stop asking me that question? I’m sure. I’m sure I’m sure. I mean the things that I say. Glimmer will forgive you.”

Adora pouted. “But how do you know? She was  _ so _ mad at me, Bow.”

Bow’s head lolled back and he lifted his eyes to the ceiling. “Because you’re her best friend. We’re the Best Friends Squad.” 

Adora slumped even further so that the only part of her that showed over the table was her hair poof. 

“I just want everything to go back to normal.” 

“I don’t know if that’s possible. Everything will be okay, I know that, but we can only go forward from here. You just have to figure out what your next move is.”

Adora sat up a little and crossed her arms bitterly. 

“In a perfect world I’d just ditch Horde completely and keep working on my art.” 

Bow raised his eyebrows at her with a half grin. 

She sat up the rest of the way and shook her head at him. 

“Don’t tell me, you’re about to tell me to follow my heart.”

Bow leaned back and twirled his pencil between his fingers. 

“We already know what’s in your heart. What you’ve gotta do now is follow your courage.”

* * *

Adora spun herself around in her office chair as she listened to the other Horde interns chatter away. She had no interest in joining in on their conversation. She had no interest in being there at all, though she did let out a snort when she heard Entrapta mention that they called Horde HQ the “Fright Zone” because all of the higher-ups were so scary

Mostly, she tuned out and wished she were anywhere else. 

But she was biding her time, waiting for an opportunity to catch Shadow Weaver and tell her exactly how she felt about the company. Her nerves were buzzing. Fear thundered through her veins every time she thought about it. She had no idea how her mother would react when she finally shared her thoughts. 

The optimism in her heart wanted to believe that she might listen thoughtfully and take Adora’s considerations into account. Maybe she would change the way Horde ran and work to make a positive change in the community that they were currently wiping out. Maybe she would take some of Horde’s excessive profits and put the money toward local educational or the arts or after school programs. 

Maybe it would go over perfectly and her mother would thank her for her insight and make everything right. 

But the pragmatic part of her brain knew that she should be prepared to be berated. In all likelihood, her mother would scold her for criticizing her hard work and punish her for speaking out of turn. 

Her heart thudded excessively each time anyone who looked remotely like her mom appeared in her periphery. 

Maybe she wouldn’t do it today. It was her mom, she had all the time in the world to confront her. She could take some more time, compile a list of all the reasons she was right. As if that might actually help her case. 

She blew a loose strand of hair from her eyes as the spinning of her chair slowed and Entrapta and the other interns came back into focus. Apparently Entrapta was now explaining the leaps and bounds Horde was making in the tech industry with excited eyes and zealous hand gestures. 

Adora couldn’t stop herself. She was already on edge, and listening to talk of Horde’s success pushed her general agitation into the realm of righteous indignation.

“What about the fact that while we’re making all of this progress in technology, the small businesses and residents nearby are all being sucked dry and left for dead?” 

Entrapta looked at her for an uncomfortably long time. Just when Adora was convinced that she had managed to halt all conversation, Entrapta dove into an exhaustive explanation of the concept of monopoly, and Adora couldn’t take it. 

She stood suddenly, sending her wheeled chair scooting out into the aisle behind her. 

“I have to go. I have to do something.”

She was going to talk to her mother and she was going to do it now. 

She marched out into the hallway and jammed her fist against the button to call the elevator. As she rode up to the top floor, she bounced on the balls of her feet and clenched her jaw, willing herself to keep her conviction. 

A ding sounded in the elevator, the doors opened, and Adora stopped breathing. She could feel the color drain from her face. She remained where she was, still bouncing lightly as her body went numb, until the doors closed again. 

She stopped bouncing.

“Shit.” 

She hit the button for the top floor again, and cracked all of the knuckles on both of her hands as the elevator rose once more. 

The doors opened again, and Adora practically ran through them. 

She could do this. She could stand up to her mom. She could be an agent of good in this godforsaken world. 

She marched past the other desks manically. Her breathing was ragged and adrenaline flooded her arteries as the sight of her mother sitting behind her desk drew into view. 

She could do this. She could do this. 

“Follow your goddamn courage, Adora,” she mumbled to herself as she came to a stop just outside the threshold of Shadow Weaver’s office. 

She took one long, deep breath, hoping to slow the thrumming of her heart even a little, then she barged into the room and slammed her palms down on the edge of the large desk. 

Her mother regarded her expectantly. “Is there something I can do for you, Adora?” Her phrasing was in the form of a question, but her tone made it sound more like a statement. As if what she was really saying was, “You had better have a good reason for storming into my workspace and interrupting my day.” 

“As a matter of fact, there is.” Adora’s voice didn’t come out nearly as forceful as she had hoped they would, but she pressed on. She had to get this out. The rest of her speech poured out of her in a bit of a rushed mess, but she was determined to be heard. “I need you to change the way you run this company. Your business practices are driving out all of the hard-working local people and establishments that make this city what it is. The price gauging and rent spikes and buying up all the real estate is only hurting the people who live here, and I want you to find a way to make this business function in a way that’s actually helpful to the community that we’re meant to be a part of.” 

She let out a hard puff of breath when she finished, relieved that she didn’t stumble over her words and managed to get her point across. 

Shadow Weaver steepled her fingers and emitted a sharp, humorless laugh. Adora’s face fell at the sound. 

“Darling. You can’t possibly be serious. This is just how business is done. Horde is extremely successful. Things here are going exactly as they’re supposed to.” 

Adora gripped the desk under her hands as if it were a lifeline. 

“Mom, these are my friends you’re running out of business! They’ve worked so hard, and they’re good people. You always told me Horde would help the city, but we’re just taking away everything that makes it special.”

Shadow Weaver stood and curled an icy hand around Adora’s shoulder. Adora shoved away the urge to shake it off. 

“This is our livelihood, Adora. The world we live in is harsh and unforgiving. We cannot take anyone else’s financial struggles into consideration. It is us or them. Remember, dear, blood is thicker than water.” 

Adora bit down on her back teeth and swallowed thickly. 

She felt a deep, raw longing for her mother to mean those words in a way that went beyond blind faith and bloodlines. But when she looked into her mom’s cold eyes, she was met only with a compassionless, power-hungry expression that communicated the expectation that she would follow orders and never again question Shadow Weaver’s authority. There was no love in those eyes. 

* * *

Adora walked into Swiftwinds with her shoulders squared and dried tears tightening the skin on her cheeks. She hadn’t bothered to wipe them away after they fell as she left her mother’s office. 

Inside, Glimmer and Bow sat at the bar, and Catra poured each of them a shot of whiskey. When Adora strode up to the bar, Catra granted her a little grin and silently grabbed another shot glass and poured one out for her too. 

When Glimmer spotted her, her mouth pulled into a familiar scowl. Before she could say anything, Adora held her hands up, hoping to stop another fight before it could start. 

”I know I should have told you it was my mom driving all of this economic bullshit, and I’m sorry that I didn’t do as much as I should have to help our side of things before. But if you would be willing to give me a chance, I have an idea.”

Glimmer pushed her tongue into her cheek as her angry stance deflated. Her expression was still one of minor distrust when she clarified, “Our side?”

Adora let out a relieved, airy chuckle. 

“Yeah, our side. I talked to my mom earlier, and she tried to get me to go along with her with the ‘blood is thicker than water’ argument. And she was right, but not for the reason she thinks. Because the actual quote goes, ‘the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.’ She’s my mother, we’re related by biology. But you guys, you’re my family.” She cast a sidelong look at Catra, then sent a sincere, hopeful smile back at the others. “I choose you.”

Bow beamed. Catra gazed at her with pride. 

After a moment of deliberation, Glimmer nodded and held her hand out. Adora took it and squeezed. Yet another round of tears formed in her eyes, but this time they came with an easing of the strain on her heart.

All four of them raised their shots to the Best Friends Squad, each of them elated at the group’s reconciliation. When the shots were down, they eyed each other playfully, all of them knowing how corny they were and none of them wanting to say it. 

With a smack of her lips, Adora put on her scheming face and motioned for the others to huddle around. “Now, I’d like to propose a family outing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shoutout to @primaryass on tumblr for being my most vocal supporter. The encouragement is very appreciated. 
> 
> Speaking of tumblr, come say hi if you want. @yeah-ditto-obvs


	5. Lovers and Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! The final chapter. Thank you to those who have been following this and a preemptive thanks to anyone who happens upon this story in the future. 
> 
> I've had a great time writing this, I hope you all enjoy it just as much.
> 
> A very special thank you to the people who volunteered to beta read this chapter, I'm so grateful! They're on Tumblr @solulater and @americanhoney913.

“Well, safe to say you’re putting that art degree to good use.”

Adora, Glimmer, and Bow sat with Catra in the living room of their house. All four of them squished together on the one couch in the room, choosing a slightly uncomfortable proximity to each other over the available armchairs so that none of them would have to move in order to reach the half-empty box of wine that rested on their upcycled coffee table next to a short tower of red solo cups.

Catra decided to free up some room on the sofa by shifting herself into Adora’s lap, and Adora wasn’t complaining one bit. 

The news was playing on the television, and they watched with unrestrained smiles as a story ran about a mural that had appeared on the side of Horde headquarters. 

Adora smirked with pride. She giggled and squirmed when Catra licked her thumb and brought it to her cheek to rub at a streak of paint that hadn’t quite washed out yet. 

“Couldn’t have done it without you guys.” 

The news camera zoomed in on a shot of the mural, which depicted a crowd of people with picket signs calling Horde out for its corporate greed. The painted figures in the foreground bore signs with messages such as, “Down with Evil Horde!” and “Corporate Scum!” and “Eat the Rich!” In the background, the crowd faded into a faceless rendering of an angry mob, torches and pitchforks and all. 

The newscaster’s voice sounded as the image panned back out to show the building from street level. It really was an impressive sight to behold. 

_ “No suspects have been charged as this act of vandalism continues to draw attention from locals and tourists alike…” _

“And we got away with it!” Bow threw his arms into the air, sending the contents of his cup spilling over into both his and Glimmer’s laps. “Shit, sorry, sorry!”

Glimmer patted him on the shoulder. “Bow, it’s fine. I’ll just get some paper towels. I was going to go grab something from the kitchen anyway.” 

Glimmer stood and trotted out of the room. 

Adora swirled her wine happily around her cup while Catra drained her own before nuzzling Adora’s neck and dropping a spontaneous kiss onto her shoulder. Adora shot her a curious smile and Catra just lifted her shoulder in a half shrug. 

When Glimmer reentered the living room, she tossed a roll of paper towels to Bow, who gratefully tore off a piece and dabbed at the stain on his pants. She stood before the group with her other hand secretively held behind her back. 

“In honor of our successful first foray into criminal activity,” Catra snickered and Adora poked her in the stomach as she did her best to maintain respectful eye contact with Glimmer, “I brought home a little celebratory something from work!”

Glimmer brought her hand into view and revealed an expensive bottle of champagne. 

Catra perked up immediately in Adora’s lap.

“Oh, fuck yeah, that’s the good stuff!”

She gave Adora a playful pinch on the cheek, pushed herself up, pulled fresh solo cups from the stack, and passed them around. Adora pinched her on the ass in retaliation, and Catra let out a high-pitched squeak. Adora pulled a face of innocence when Catra whipped around to look at her. Catra sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and shook her head with amusement in her eyes. Adora pulled her back into her lap and held her cup out to Glimmer, who was struggling to pop the bottle. 

Eventually she got it, and the cork went flying. It sprang upward, bounced off of the ceiling, then zoomed back down straight into Catra’s cup, knocking it clean out of her hand.

“Jesus, Twinkles, watch where you aim that thing!”

Glimmer, who was making no attempt to hide her laughter, replied in a sing-song voice, “Sorry, Kit Kat, the cork has a mind of its own! Just a happy accident.”

Catra grumbled as she retrieved a new cup and snatched the bottle from her hands, pouring herself and Adora hefty servings of the champagne before passing it off to Bow, who just barely managed to stifle his own chuckling before she looked his way.

When Glimmer got the bottle back, she poured herself a cup and raised it.

“A toast! To Adora, who isn’t afraid to stick it to The Man, even when The Man happens to be her mom.”

Adora gave a gracious tip of the head, then countered, “To all of you. I wouldn’t have been able to stand up to her, even with anonymous graffiti, if it weren’t for you guys.” 

Catra, who had settled back in her lap, half-joked through a supportive grin, “Could this moment get any cheesier?”

Beside them, Bow couldn’t contain a squeal. “To the Best Friends Squad!” 

Adora looked at her girlfriend with an expression that said they clearly should have seen that coming. “I think that proves the answer to your question is yes.”

The four of them lifted their cups together and drank. 

Given the wine they’d been going through before Glimmer broke out the champagne, it wasn’t long before all of them were comfortably tipsy. They continued to congratulate each other on their success with the mural. 

Adora downed her drink and poured herself another round. “It sucks that the mural’s just going to get painted over though. Wish we could do something more permanent.”

Glimmer’s eyes went wide. “I have an idea!”

She pulled out her phone and rapidly typed out a text. The room was quiet for a moment as Adora, Catra, and Bow watched her expectantly. Glimmer stood before them silently as they exchanged confused glances. 

Eventually, her phone buzzed and Glimmer whooped and jumped in the air when she read what was on its screen. 

“Yes!”

The others looked at her with raised eyebrows, still waiting for her to explain. She held them in suspense for another moment before she couldn’t contain herself anymore.

“I just texted Spinerella and Netossa. We’re going to get all of the other local businesses together and have a protest!”

The three on the couch took a second to digest the information and then they too were on their feet in excitement. The champagne was passed around once again and they toasted to their brilliance.

Glimmer’s eyes shone with wild determination. The champagne flowed freely until it ran dry, and then the wine made its way back into circulation. None of their cups stayed empty for long.

More toasts were made, each more inebriated than the last.

“To Bow! The man who managed to ‘borrow’ a ladder from the school’s archery range to get us up the side of the building without anyone noticing.”

“To Glimmer, whose passion inspires us all!”

“To this group of absolute idiots! I love you all so much more than I thought I would.”

“To Catra, who is  _ so good _ in the bedroom-”

“Adora!”

“Yeah, to me too, I’m also really good-”

Catra’s face burned red as she clamped a hand over Adora’s mouth while Bow and Glimmer joined Adora in a fit of hysterics. 

Adora broke free by licking Catra’s hand, causing Catra to yank it away and rub it off on Bow’s sleeve. 

Adora staggered drunkenly to Glimmer’s side and threw a heavy arm around her shoulders. She leaned right into Glimmer’s face and jabbed her pointer finger into her chest. “Glim, you are just the  _ best. _ I don’t tell you that enough. You’re  _ amazing _ . And you bought a  _ business _ ? I mean,” she blew out a breath as her eyes refocused, “that’s impressive!”

Catra, decidedly less intoxicated than her girlfriend, came over then and put an arm around Adora’s waist to support her. “Okay, Adora. Let’s get you some bread or something before your next round, huh?”

Adora pouted, but let herself be led away. “You want me to have a snack?  _ You’re  _ a snack.”

She somehow managed to snort and hiccup at the same time, but Catra just chuckled and hugged her waist a bit tighter. 

Glimmer, meanwhile, was just as drunk as Adora and let her friend’s praise go directly to her head. After a solid minute of nodding to herself, Glimmer climbed precariously on top of the coffee table and spread her arms to call everyone’s attention back to her. She swayed just a bit, but managed to keep herself upright. Bow, only slightly more steady than her, raised his hands to spot her in case that changed. 

Glimmer’s face was comically serious. “Guys. It’s time.” She was met with blank stares. “I’m finally gonna tell my parents I dropped out of college!” 

It was silent for a moment, then Catra, having just finished making a peanut butter sandwich for Adora and ensured that it was being eaten, burst out into a stark cackle. She still had her cup of wine in one hand and brought it to her lips to quiet herself. 

Bow’s face became concerned. He carefully followed her up onto the coffee table and balanced himself with a hand on her hip. 

“Glimmer,” he paused to burp, then continued, “are you sure you want to do that?”

Glimmer nodded emphatically and fished her phone out of her pocket for the second time that night. Her voice resounded as she raised its volume and focused all of her energy on not slurring her words. 

“Hi mom! No, I’m fine. I’m great! So, super honesty time… I’ve had a couple of drinks, yes, but I’ve have got to tell you something. I dropped out of Bright Moon U… I’m so sorry I lied to you, but I wanted to invest in the community. Yeah, so, I used the tuition money you’ve been sending, and I bought shares in a gay bar. Oh, also I’m bisexual. Oh, also, also, my friends and I are organizing a protest against gentrification at the Horde headquarters, you and dad should totally come… Yeah, I’m compete-completely serious. Okay love you, bye!”

Everyone watched wordlessly as Glimmer hung up and gazed at her phone for a few beats. When she finally looked up again, her mouth stretched into a beaming smile, and she pumped a fist in the air as she screamed, “I did it!”

Bow followed her energy and rushed to put some music on the speakers. Adora, who had wolfed down her sandwich and chugged two glasses of water, reentered the living room through the archway to the kitchen and immediately pulled Catra in behind her to dance.

Bow and Glimmer followed suit, and soon their living room was a mess of fallen cups and moving bodies. The music blared and the bass thrummed through the floorboards. 

Adora jumped around and swayed her hips, smiling ear to ear as the people she loved most surrounded her and did the same. 

They all bounced to the music, their hands intermittently flung into the air, and sang along to the songs with too much fervor to come even close to being on pitch. For the time being, none of them had a care in the world. They were sweaty and happy and breathing hard and flushed in the cheeks.

Every time a song she recognized came on, Adora cheered and pointed at Bow. It was a playlist of his that she had helped to curate, so her delighted surprise at how perfect the music choices were sent him into a bout of laughter each time. 

She had regained some of her senses, but the alcohol still buzzed through her veins. 

Catra grabbed her hips and pulled their bodies together. She draped her hands around the back of Catra’s neck and curled her fingers into Catra’s hair. Their hips brushed against each other. Adora’s face was hot, but she barely noticed. 

Catra’s eyelids were hooded with inebriation, but she seemed to sober up considerably when Adora dug her nails into her skin and dragged them down her neck as she pressed their fronts more firmly together. 

To her side, Adora noticed off-handedly that Bow and Glimmer also seemed to be dancing closer together than was strictly friendly. Were they… no, couldn’t be.

Suddenly, Catra twisted in her arms so that her back was to Adora’s front and any thoughts about the other occupants of the room flew out of her mind. Catra took ahold of Adora’s hands and brought them to rest where her hip bones met the dip of her stomach then brought one of her own hands up to the side of Adora’s neck. 

Catra rocked her hips in time with the music, and Adora followed suit. With each sway, she pulled Catra into her, wrapping one arm completely around Catra’s middle. She bent her head down and trailed her lips over Catra’s neck and shoulder. The corner of her mouth pulled into a smirk when she felt Catra shiver under her touch. She could feel every inch of her as they moved together.

She swallowed hard when Catra twirled in her arms again and dropped a hand onto her shoulder. Adora’s pulse picked up so hard and fast, she was a little surprised she couldn’t actually see it thumping beneath her skin. It felt like Catra’s eyes were burning right into her. 

She dropped her gaze to Catra’s lips for half a second. 

She felt herself starting to lean forward, but she pulled back in surprise when she saw her own action mirrored out of the corner of her eye. 

Her mouth fell open as Glimmer stood on her toes and connected her lips with Bow’s. 

Catra turned to see what had taken her attention away from kissing her, and her jaw dropped as well. They both stared at their friends until they broke the kiss. 

Glimmer and Bow both blushed, and Adora realized rather suddenly that she and Catra had just been witness to something that was meant to be private. 

She pulled Catra into a searing kiss to keep their mouths busy before Catra could comment on what they’d seen and before Bow and Glimmer could catch them looking. 

Catra sank into it right away without question. Their bodies melted into each other as their lips pushed and pulled. As it tended to when they kissed, the world fell away until all that existed was the two of them and the heat that emanated from every inch of contact between them. 

When she came up for air, Adora found that Catra was fixing her with a gaze that meant they should definitely move to a room that had a bed and a door with a lock.

She faced Bow and Glimmer, who had put a solid foot of space between them and were avoiding eye contact. That was a situation she could dissect later. 

“Catra and I are going to go to bed now. Yawn. Super tired. Good night!”

She grabbed Catra’s hand, and they took off up the stairs at a sprint. Catra giggled into her shoulder.

“Did you just say the word ‘yawn’ as if that’s supposed to make people believe you’re sleepy?”

Adora saved herself from having to answer when they reached her bedroom and she captured Catra’s lips again, slamming the door behind her. She dipped her head to suck softly at Catra’s neck. 

Between wet kisses, she said, “Do you want to make fun of me or do you want to take my clothes off?”

It took a moment for Catra to regain the ability to form words as Adora lifted her off the ground and carried her the rest of the way to the bed, her mouth still latched onto Catra’s throat. Even so, she managed to smirk through slightly labored breathing.

“I can’t do both?”

Again, Adora chose not to answer directly and instead tugged at the hem of Catra’s shirt. Because, yeah, conceivably, Catra could do both, but she’d really prefer to side-step the mockery at least until they were both naked. She didn’t mind a little teasing, but there was a time and place. And a few positions. 

Catra’s shirt fell to the floor, and Adora crawled onto the bed to hover over her, dragging herself over the length of Catra’s body. She inhaled deeply as she took Catra’s lips in her own. 

Catra let out a whine when Adora lowered herself entirely on top of her, and Adora chuckled. 

“Still want to make fun of me?”

Catra looked like she was debating answering with sarcasm until Adora shifted her weight just so, and Catra’s eyes blew wide. 

She shook her head, and for a while, the only words that escaped her mouth were in the form of unintelligible gasps and moans. 

Eventually they collapsed together on the pillows, hair mussed, skin slick, breath heaving. 

Adora sighed happily while Catra grazed her fingertips over her arms and the planes of her stomach. 

Softly, Catra said against her ear, “You’re amazing.”

Adora raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, you made that pretty clear a minute ago. Bow and Glimmer are going to have to start investing in earplugs. We’re lucky Mermista and Seahawk are out tonight, or we’d already be hearing about it.” 

Catra chuckled into Adora’s neck and placed a soft kiss there. “Okay, yeah, but I meant more in like, a general sense.” Adora squinted in confusion. Catra circled a nail around Adora’s belly button as she elaborated. “You’re just so… good, and kind and talented… I know I’ve never met your mom or anything, but from what you’ve told me, for someone like you to come out of a situation like that is really impressive. I don’t know a lot of people who are strong enough to do the right thing when it means going up against your own family. Just… you’re amazing.” She ended with a shrug. 

Adora’s eyes shimmered as she ran her fingers through Catra’s hair. She shifted onto her side to face Catra fully.

“I mean, it’s not easy, but… You. You and Bow and Glimmer, you’re my family too. That makes it a little easier.”

Catra grinned at her sweetly, until it slowly turned into a sly smirk, and she jumped on top of Adora’s chest and they both erupted in renewed giggles.

* * *

The rally in front of Horde headquarters ended up getting a surprisingly good turnout. After Glimmer’s tipsy text to Spinerella and Netossa, her business partners had gone on to reach out to all of the small business owners in the area, and they and their employees reached out further.

Glimmer led the circular march in front of the building carrying a sign that bore the words “Asians for Local Autonomy.” Every now and then she would yell out, “Fuck the Fright Zone!” before she remembered that a number of protesters had brought their kids along, which prompted her to adopt an apologetic expression and wave guiltily at the children who watched her with wide-eyed wonder. 

One of those children was Spinerella and Netossa’s daughter, Frosta, who despite her young age, had a fierce fire in her voice as she chanted along with everyone else from atop Glimmer’s shoulders. 

Glimmer, Spinerella, and Netossa decided to take point when it came to managing the minimal press coverage of the event. As predicted, the mural on the side of the building had been mostly painted over, though some words and faces managed to show through the thin layer that covered Adora and her friends’ work. Glimmer made sure the reporter knew that the mural was just the beginning of a bigger movement, although she was careful to avoid implicating the Best Friends Squad as the ones who had actually painted it. 

The local news had shown up shortly after the protest began. They took a quick statement, got a few shots of the crowd’s signs, then packed their things up again and were gone as swiftly as they came.

Mermista and Seahawk were there, in formation with a burly woman named Huntara, who ran First Ones Coffee.

Adora was delighted to see Madame Razz pull up bearing a sign that said “Pies Not Lies.”

Scorpia and Perfuma had arrived together, and they set up a table with a cooler and passed out water bottles to anyone who might be thirsty. 

Someone named DT came, representing a hip thrift shop called Trend Bender. 

Some people Adora knew from various sports clubs at Bright Moon University who had graduated a year or two before named Kyle, Lonnie, and Rogelio were there with a severe looking woman named Octavia on behalf of Force Captain Gym. 

A trio of siblings came representing a bookstore called Star’s Glory.

Glimmer’s face compressed with nerves when her parents, Angella and Micah, showed up, not having seen them in person since her drunken phone call to them. But, when they approached her, all they said was that even though they definitely wanted to talk about her decision-making and communication strategies, they supported her no matter what. 

Micah and Angella also brought along Glimmer’s aunt Casta, who heard about the rally and insisted on taking part. She came with a tall woman named Juliet, and they both wore t-shirts supporting the Whispering Woods Women and Youth Shelter.

Bow, Catra, and Adora shared a homemade banner that said “Swiftwinds of Revolution” at Glimmer’s behest.

Adora handed her side of the banner off to Frosta, who was more than happy to be a more active participant, when she saw Entrapta peek her head out of the building’s doors. Adora lifted her hand in a small wave and met Entrapta halfway when she cautiously approached the rowdy group marching around the courtyard. 

Entrapta’s face was full of curiosity, and Adora was relieved that no one with a more hostile disposition had followed her outside. Entrapta looked around at the activity with her hands clasped together.

“Adora, what is all of this? Your mother said there was some commotion out here so I came to investigate!” 

Adora explained the happenings and was pleasantly surprised when Entrapta appeared elated.

“I’ve never seen a protest before! What a fascinating social experiment. Can I stay and watch?”

Adora’s eyebrows shot up. She had certainly not been expecting one of Horde’s most enthusiastic interns to be excited about a rally against the company. 

“I- yeah, sure! The more the merrier! But, won’t you get in trouble for skipping out on your work?”

“Oh, they won’t miss me up there. I designed a program that does practically all of my work for me. I named it Emily! And I am very interested to see how this all plays out.” 

Adora smiled. “Okay, cool-”

Her attention was taken away from the girl before her when Shadow Weaver appeared in the building’s entryway with a bullhorn in hand. She strutted to the top of the steps overlooking the courtyard where the rally participants were marching and pressed a button that sounded a deafening siren. 

All movement halted as everyone’s eyes turned to her. Shadow Weaver’s face was grim as she looked out upon the protesters and brought the horn to her mouth. Her voice was eerily calm as she addressed them. 

“This meaningless demonstration is a disruption-”

Glimmer’s voice carried over the crowd, “That’s the point!”

Shadow Weaver pressed on as if she hadn’t been interrupted. 

“If you do not disperse, we will have no option but to contact the authorities.”

Adora grit her teeth. One glance at the apprehensive looks on her fellow demonstrators’ faces was all it took to send her storming up the steps to confront her mother. Bow, Glimmer, and Catra rushed up to flank her and stand in solidarity. 

Adora’s hands were clenched into fists as she stepped up to her mother with a furious glower.

“We have a lawful right to protest on a public sidewalk. You can’t just kick us out.” 

Shadow Weaver’s expression contorted in shock at seeing her daughter there. 

“Adora, what do you think you’re doing out here? Get inside, right now.”

Adora shook her head, steadfast with her friends behind her, physically and symbolically. 

“I stand with these protesters, Mom. Joining the ranks of some corporate monster goes against everything I believe in. Horde is  _ draining _ this community, trying to turn everyone and everything into mindless clones. I won’t be complicit in it.” 

Shadow Weaver loomed over her, threatening in her very presence. 

“You would turn your back on your own mother? Your flesh and blood? For what? A handful of dying ventures that never had legs to begin with? Who do you think you are? I raised this company from the ground up, and I raised you. You owe your very life to me, and you would betray me, your family, like this?”

Adora felt herself shrink under her mother’s steely gaze. This was a talent of hers, making Adora feel small and unsure and insignificant. 

Then Catra’s hand slipped into hers and squeezed. She, Bow, and Glimmer took a step forward to stand directly with Adora. And suddenly she felt stronger than ever. 

“No, Mom. I’m  _ turning my back _ on apathy for the people who make this community what it is. On the casual cruelty that this company dishes out. These people right here have shown me more love in the time I’ve known them than you have my entire life. They support me, and I support them. That’s what family is. So if fighting for them means turning my back on you, then yeah. That’s exactly what I choose.”

Shadow Weaver clenched her jaw and said no more. She disappeared back into Horde headquarters, and Adora sagged into her friends’ arms. 

Over the course of her life, her mother had often expressed her displeasure whenever Adora failed to live up to the expectations she set out for her. Adora had learned to protect her heart from the crushing pressure and the heartache that came from feeling that she was a burden if she wasn’t achieving. But it wasn’t easy. If she wasn’t perfect, she was a disappointment. Her whole life, she had been trained to strive to maintain her mother’s approval. Their whole dynamic was about her mother’s ego.

So Adora directly going against her, in public, was an act of disobedience she wasn’t sure she knew how to process. 

But Catra, Bow, and Glimmer held her up. They met her eyes with a sincerity that assured her that they were there, they were with her, and they had her back. She didn’t realize that she had tears in her eyes until she blinked and a few salty drops fell over her cheeks. 

Catra thumbed the tears away, Glimmer hugged her from behind, and Bow leaned in to whisper, “We got you.” 

* * *

It wasn’t long until Shadow Weaver made good on her promise, and the police showed up.

Angella and Micah announced that they would talk to them first. They were well-known for their familial wealth and community influence, and were respected among local officials. They figured it was only right for them to put that privilege to use. 

Glimmer’s parents attempted to assure the police that the protest was entirely peaceful and that none of its participants were breaking any laws. 

An alarming number of officers had emerged and partially surrounded the demonstration. 

Adora did her best to ignore them. The rally was one hundred percent peaceful, and there was no reason for the cops to be there. She hoped they would just assess the situation, see that no laws were being broken, and leave without causing any issues. The sentiment of the group was passionate, but it was contained. 

Of course, that was not how things played out. 

Frosta, who had been tossing a half-empty water bottle up into the air for her own entertainment, having grown somewhat bored with the adults’ repetitive marching and chanting, lost her grip on the bottle and accidentally sent it arcing over people’s heads to fall into the mob of cops. 

Hell broke loose. 

Glimmer was right in front of the line of police when it happened, and one of the officers, enraged by the plastic that had landed at his feet, raised his baton and ran at her. The other demonstrators screamed and ran.

Adora and Catra, from the other side of the crowd, watched in horror. Adora felt her heart drop, too far away to get to Glimmer in time. 

Fortunately, Bow was closer, and grabbed Glimmer by the waist to pull her out of the path of the swinging baton just before it connected with her skull. Adora clutched at Catra’s hand, suddenly extremely concerned with keeping her girlfriend close. They struggled to move through the throngs of people who all seemed to want to move but couldn’t really go anywhere.

Bow’s eyes were filled with fear and concern. 

“Are you okay? You’re okay, right?”

His hands went to either side of Glimmer’s head, checking for injuries. When he found none, he locked eyes with Glimmer, and then, in a rush of relief and adrenaline, their lips were crashing together in a short but emotional kiss. 

As Adora and Catra pushed through the jostling crowd toward them, Micah stepped toward the officer who had tried to attack his daughter with his hands raised, clearly hoping to de-escalate the situation. Micah was a muscular man, but his height made him slightly less imposing.

The officer’s grip on his baton was still tight, but he brought the offending weapon to his side as Micah’s words passed over him without any impact. 

The cop pushed Micah back forcefully and hollered, “Who is in charge of this riot?”

Micah tried again. “This is not a riot. This is a peaceful-”

“A projectile was fired at my officers, and you call that peaceful?” the officer roared. He roughly took hold of Micah’s arms.

Adora heard Glimmer cry out. 

Adora managed to push her way to the front just as the officer was pulling out a pair of handcuffs.

“Stop! This is my rally, I’m in charge!”

Catra grabbed her arm and yanked her back. “Adora, what the hell are you doing?” 

Before she could say anything, the officer who had Micah in his grasp shoved him away and clamped his hands over Adora’s wrists, wrenching her out of Catra’s grasp. 

“Fine, little girl. You want to take the fall, be my guest. Fucking instigator.”

He grabbed her ponytail and snapped her head back as the handcuffs closed over her skin. Adora’s eyes followed her head’s trajectory up to find her mother shaking hands with one of the other officers. 

Disbelief clouded her brain. Her voice cracked when she shouted, “Mom! Are you really going to let them do this?”

The cop turned to Shadow Weaver. His voice was emotionless when he jerked his head at Adora. “This belong to you?” 

Shadow Weaver regarded Adora with cold, unfeeling eyes. She laced her hands in front of her, still and quiet. Her gravelly voice was unsettlingly even when she responded, “She is no daughter of mine.” 

A fresh wave of tears fell silently from Adora’s eyes as her mother turned and swept back toward the building.

Catra raced forward and planted a desperate kiss on Adora’s lips as the police started to haul her away. Her voice was hushed as reassurances poured from her mouth. 

“It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay. Don’t say anything, we’ll get you out of this. I love you.”

“I love you, too!” Bow called as he came up to Catra’s side. 

“So do I! We love you Adora! We’ll take care of this!” Glimmer bellowed as she went to Catra’s other side.

Adora let out a watery laugh as the officers thrust her into the back of one of their cars and took her away.

Her chest felt like it was splitting open at her mother’s blatant rejection but, as the crowd began to disperse, Catra, Bow, and Glimmer stood together watching after her, and she didn’t feel nearly as alone as she might have expected. 

* * *

Angella and Micah bailed Adora out later that night. 

Catra, Bow, and Glimmer all practically pounced on her in a group hug the second she was through the door. 

Adora grinned at them with gratitude bursting from her chest. “I love you guys.” And she did. So much that her body could barely handle the feeling that radiated out from her heart. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, and squeezed her friends even tighter. 

Bow and Glimmer concurrently pressed a kiss to her cheeks, followed immediately by Catra pressing one against her lips. 

“Love you too, jailbird.” 

She was surprised to find that a large group had also come to greet her upon her release. Mermista and Seahawk were there, proud smiles firmly in place, along with Glimmer’s parents, Spinerella and Netossa, Madame Razz, Scorpia and Perfuma, and even Entrapta. 

Angella and Micah chuckled fondly when the rest of the group broke out in a round of applause for Adora, causing her to hide her reddening face behind one of her hands.

Angella and Micah drove her, Catra, Bow, and Glimmer home in their sleek SUV. She informed Adora during the ride that she and Micah were working to get the charges against her dropped. 

When they arrived, Angella got out of the car and pulled Adora aside before she could follow the others in. 

“Adora. I just wanted to tell you that I am very proud that Glimmer has chosen such a courageous and righteous person for a friend.” Adora ducked her head, but Angella placed a gentle hand on her cheek, bringing her gaze back up. Her face was sincere and warm, and Adora struggled to swallow around a gritty lump in her throat. Angella went on, “I am so glad to have you as part of our family. We’ll be here for you, whatever you need.” 

She pulled her into a strong, maternal hug, and Adora nearly burst into tears again. 

* * *

About a month later, it was Bow who was nearly in tears as the Best Friends Squad and company gathered at Swiftwinds for Bow and Adora’s graduation party. 

The establishment was pulling through its economic strife. More and more, Swiftwinds was regaining its regular clientele, and the building itself seemed stronger to Adora. It was sturdy, and it wasn’t going anywhere.

In reality, the party was just like every other time they went to the bar, but that night Glimmer and Catra insisted that they at least start the night with a glass of something bubbly rather than the tequila shots that had become their routine, and everyone had put a tiny bit more effort than they normally would into their outfits. 

Bow raised his drink. “To our,” he paused to sniffle, “last-last Thirsty Thursday.”

Glimmer put an arm around his shoulder and kissed his cheek. “Bow, it’s not like we’re going to stop going out for drinks just because you guys are about to be done with college.”

Catra leaned over the bar and gave him a friendly punch on the arm. “Yeah, buck up, buddy! College education has no claim over drinking on weeknights, trust me.”

Bow nodded, still a little misty, and they clinked their glasses together and drank. 

Scorpia and Perfuma, having handed karaoke off to Seahawk, came over to congratulate the soon-to-be graduates. 

Scorpia smiled at them expectantly. “So, do you guys know what you’re doing after-”

“Nope!” Adora held a hand up with a friendly but stern expression. “First rule of this graduation party is no one talks about post-college plans. I don’t know about you, Bow, but Glimmer’s parents have been after me non-stop with questions and suggestions, and I appreciate it, but for this one night, we’re going to talk about literally anything else.”

“Oh, speaking of my parents!” Adora deflated as Glimmer piped up. Glimmer rolled her eyes at her. “It’s not about you and your glowing potential future, don’t worry. They just announced that they’re starting something called the Etheria Small Business Fund! Apparently we really inspired them to support community engagement.” 

Adora sat up straight again. “What? That’s amazing!”

Bow lifted his glass for a second time. “To Angella and Micah!”

“Angella and Micah!”

As it turned out, this was another night amongst friends filled with exuberant and heartfelt toasts. The bar was filled with chatter and music and the smell of hops as the Best Friends Squad lounged contentedly by the counter, haloed by the dangling overhead lights.

“In other good news,” Adora proclaimed, “I saw an article yesterday that Horde is opening a new headquarters on the other side of the country. They’re downsizing because of all the negative press they got after the police tried to turn our peaceful protest into a street fight.”

They clinked chilled cocktail glasses and drank again. 

Catra shot Adora a look, making sure she was okay with the news. Adora gave her an almost imperceptible nod in return.

Adora had worked, and was still working, to process the fact that she had been disowned. It was difficult to wrap her head around. Every now and then she felt a stabbing pain in her chest at the thought and had to ride out the urge to break into sobs. 

One thing she could be grateful for was that her tuition had been paid and was non-refundable.

She found that it was a combination of relief and sorrow to be so swiftly dismissed from her mother’s life. It hurt, more than she had the words for. Yet at the same time, for the first time in her life, Adora felt free in her personhood. She had dreams and aspirations that had nothing to do with her mother’s business, and the people she had chosen to surround herself with provided her with unending support.

She took solace in the fact that Catra, Bow, and Glimmer consistently assured her, verbally and with their very presence in her life, that she was right. They were her family, and they would all take care of each other. 

Adora looked around at them, basking in the love that they shared. 

She asked Catra for a round of shots, thoroughly enjoying the wink Catra sent her as she acquiesced and poured. 

Adora raised her little glass, prepared to tap it against the bar before she brought it to her lips. Bow wasn’t the only one who was feeling sentimental. Her eyes shone when she proposed one last toast. 

“To lovers and friends.”

Everyone around her broke out into nostalgic, affectionate grins and lifted their glasses as well.

“Lovers and friends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! Would love to hear from you in the comments.
> 
> Also feel free to drop by my Tumblr! I changed my URL, I'm @stupidadora now.


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